The iPhone Duo, Apple's first-ever foldable iPhone, went on sale Friday, and the launch revived a sight that presales and online shopping had largely erased.

KSNV reports that News 3 crews spotted long lines outside the Apple Stores at Town Square Las Vegas and Downtown Summerlin in the early morning hours of October 23, ahead of the stores' openings.

Across the globe, Apple says customers filled stores as team members offered hands-on demos and personalized shopping support for the new device.

Launch-day queues were a fixture of the early iPhone era, but they had largely given way to pre-orders and e-commerce, making the Las Vegas turnout a genuine reversal.

KSNV notes the lines were commonplace in the early days of the iPhone before online shopping overtook brick-and-mortar retail, yet demand for the Duo has proven high enough to pull buyers back outside.

Reuters, cited by KSNV, reported that Apple's estimated delivery dates slid into late January within minutes of pre-orders opening on October 16.

Business Upturn adds that some configurations moved from late-October delivery to November and December before estimates extended into January 2027 in several markets.

For buyers who missed the pre-order window, Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak offered a measure of reassurance ahead of launch.

According to Business Upturn, Joswiak told TechRadar that Apple had not allocated its entire launch supply to online pre-orders and that stores would have units available on launch day, with plans to attend the Fifth Avenue flagship launch in New York himself.

Business Upturn cautions the picture differs by market: the US, Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK and several European markets will carry limited walk-in quantities, while India, mainland China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the UAE require online orders for in-store collection.

The iPhone Duo arrives as a 5.4-inch external display paired with a 7.6-inch internal screen when unfolded, per Business Upturn, entering a foldable market where Samsung and other manufacturers have spent years refining competing designs.

Apple's arrival raises the stakes for the whole category, but the hinge and flexible display introduce manufacturing challenges, and analysts cited by Business Upturn point to production constraints as a factor behind limited launch supply.

Apple has not publicly attributed every delivery delay to a specific manufacturing problem, so the exact mix of constraints remains unclear. What is clear is that initial supply has struggled to keep pace with what Apple itself described as an extraordinary response.

Buyers in walk-in markets should check local store availability before travelling and arrive early, since Business Upturn stresses Apple has not guaranteed any particular model, colour or storage configuration will be on shelves.

Customers in India and other online-order markets should use Apple's online store to track delivery estimates and collection options rather than relying on in-store stock.

Meanwhile, Apple is working to onboard new owners through Personal Setup data transfers and Today at Apple sessions including "Say Hello to iPhone Duo" and "Tips: What's New in iOS 27 on iPhone," per Apple's newsroom.

Whether demand persists beyond launch day should become clearer as shipments begin and early feedback accumulates.