No adjustments and a rant
I was hoping that after a few hours it would calm down and the timelines would blur, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
The Apple Store still shows January 25th as the delivery date.
I’ll let my colleague Paul take it away with his frustrations about the pre-order today (see TikTok above).
iPhone Duo: Don’t pre-order until you see this
Best iPhone Duo Deals
While delayed shipping is a concern if you’re still planning to pre-order, you’ll want to find the best deals.
Fortunately, we rounded the best iPhone Duo pre-order deals here.
Verizon pre-order deals
Verizon reached out to Tom’s Guide and shared some information about its pre-order deals for the iPhone Duo.
Here you go:
- Switch to Verizon: iPhone Duo + Apple Watch or iPad “On Us”
- The deal: Get the new one iPhone Duo with no trade-in required, plus your choice of an Apple Watch Series 12 or iPad on us when you switch to Verizon.
- Apple One includes: Customers also get three months of Apple One on us ($17/month value after that).
- No hidden costs: Eliminate activation and upgrade fees, save up to $40 per device, by signing up for Verizon Loyalty.
- How it works: Buy an iPhone Duo (256 GB) on an eligible plan, add an Apple Watch or iPad on a qualifying line with a 36-month payment plan (0% APR), and get up to $600 in monthly promo credit. This offer stacks with the Simplicity and myPlan offers below.
- Get the iPhone Duo all-in for $72/month with simplicity
- The deal: Switch to Verizon and get the iPhone Duo (256 GB) paired with cellular service for $72 per month.
- Simple prices: Prices break down to $42/month for the device and $30/month for the Simplicity Plan with Auto Pay on a 48-month payment plan (0% APR).
- Built-in rewards: Get zero activation or upgrade fees with Verizon Loyalty, earn 3% monthly back in Verizon Dollars, and access daily drops and weekly experiences with Verizon Shine.
- Trade In & Save: Up to $1,000 Off with myPlan
- The deal: Trade in an eligible device and add a new line to save up to $1,000 on a new iPhone.
- Eligible trade-ins: Qualifying Apple, Google, Motorola or Samsung models.
- How it works: Savings are applied as a monthly credit over a 36-month interest-free payment plan (0% APR) on select plans
iPhone Duo vs. iPhone 18 Pro Max and MacBook Neo
Since their inception, flip phones have been marketed as an intermediate point between your phone and laptops, such as tablets, which still don’t quite replace a laptop.
My colleague John Velasco put it to the test and compared the iPhone Duo to buy an iPhone 18 Pro and MacBook Neo for the same price.
Earlier Geekbench leak revealed a powerful phone
In case you missed it, an early Geekbench listing for the iPhone Duo seems to indicate that Apple’s foldable is quite powerful.
Check us out iPhone Duo Geekbench leak here.
Are you planning to pre-order?
Between the high price and delayed shipping, people may be having second thoughts about pre-ordering the iPhone Duo.
So, I’m curious, do you plan to pre-order? Let us know in the comments.
Shipping is delayed again to January
On the Apple Store page, the iPhone Duo shipping has been delayed again to January. The date had risen to mid-December.
But as of this post I see January 25, 2027.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are now available… ish
If you find yourself a little impatient, you can buy the iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max now, and they’re hundreds of dollars cheaper.
However, there is a slight delay in shipping and you may not receive your device until October 26th or November 2nd.
Our early thoughts
We’ll have a full review coming in the next few weeks, but if you’re curious about the iPhone Duo, we got some early hands-on time with the foldable iPhone during Apple’s event in September.
Look at us iPhone Duo hands-on review to learn more about the phone.
iPhone Duo… a whole new way for iPhone. Pre-orders start today. https://t.co/yh0Ow1Vj74October 16, 2026
The new CEO John Ternus is a bit more active on social media compared to Tim Cook and he is promoting the iPhone Duo today.
Although he forgot a link to the pre-order page. You can find it here.
Best Buy might be your best bet
I looked into which service would get you the iPhone Duo the fastest and found that Best Buy might be your best bet.
AT&T and Verizon show shipping dates in November with dates as late as November 20th, although AT&T’s window starts on November 9th.
However, Best Buy shows no delays when I go through the pre-order process. So, as far as I can tell, you can probably get an iPhone Duo through the Box Store soon.
Price for each variant
The iPhone Duo comes in two colors and four storage variants. Here’s how much each size will cost you.
- iPhone Duo 256GB – $1999
- iPhone Duo 512GB – $2199
- iPhone Duo 1TB – $2599
- iPhone Duo 2TB – $3199
Android foldables are available
Look, you’re here for the iPhone Duo. But if you want to save some money and get a foldable phone now, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is available and it’s cheaper.
Best Buy has the Samsung foldable for $200 off the regular $1899 price.
Big delay in shipping
Be forewarned, if you pre-order today, you may not receive your iPhone DUo until mid-December.
We see all delays until December 22nd.
Shortest waiting time
The shortest current waiting time of a major retailer is Best Buy with its November 3 ship date if you have AT&T or Verizon and are willing to ask for the 1TB or 2TB version of the phone (which will hit the wallet harder, but is still cheaper than a scalper).
Still on January 25th
In a bit of positive news, Apple still promises January 25 for iPhone Duo pre-orders on its website. It’s been a few hours since this date hit, so it seems the company had a 3-month cap on how far it could push back.
That could indicate that Apple has a good amount of stock coming in January, and it is confident that it will meet all the demand. It could also mean that pre-orders have just started to slow down as people who want the phone have already placed their order (or turned to eBay to pay drastically).
Either way, we’ll continue to keep track of the dates so you’ll be informed when you get your first foldable smartphone from Apple.
$4,999.99…
And now someone paid $4,999 for a 2TB iPhone Duo.
That’s a $1,800 price gouge from the scalper.
Ouch. But congratulations to both parties, I guess?
Someone paid $3,777 for an iPhone Duo…
Long before the phones hit the hands of users, scalpers were already hitting eBay to sell them at extreme prices. And they are not the only ones to ask for extreme prices; they get them.
One eBay user spent $3,777 for a 1TB iPhone Duo, which is scheduled to be picked up on October 24th.
Most likely, this means that the buyer will not receive it for several days after that. That’s a $1,100 markup for the scalper, which is a great payday for them and a sad day for the rest of us.
Did you expect so much demand?
I expected the iPhone Duo to be popular. I expected it to be very popular, but I didn’t expect the ship date 3+ months already within a few hours of the phone becoming available.
Anyone who doubted Apple would significantly boost the foldable phone market has been proven wrong. Sure, scalpers will almost certainly buy a lot of devices, but there is clear demand from the phone space.
Large carriers are also pushed back
Unfortunately, if you go to your local carrier, you won’t get an iPhone on launch day. Each of the big three will be pushed back at least a few weeks, with T-Mobile the worst.
In fact, you won’t be able to get a duo on launch day from a major retailer. No matter where you decide to go, you’ll be stuck for a bit, as day-one pre-orders sell out in mere seconds.
Apple is not your best bet
Most people go straight to Apple when they want to pre-order an Apple device. This is a logical choice in most cases, but when demand is high, it may actually be the worst option.
As of this post, the iPhone Duo in White is scheduled to ship on January 25th. Black is no better, with a January 25th ship date. Even more surprising is that the dates don’t get any better as you go up in size – the 2TB version is also scheduled to ship on January 25th in both colors.