Surging demand and supply constraints drain initial stock

Overnight lines expected outside stores on launch day

A preorder advertisement for Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, is displayed at a mobile carrier store in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Friday, the first day preorders opened. The iPhone Duo is set to officially launch in South Korea next Friday. [Yonhap]
A preorder advertisement for Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, is displayed at a mobile carrier store in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Friday, the first day preorders opened. The iPhone Duo is set to officially launch in South Korea next Friday. [Yonhap]

Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, sold out its initial stock on the first day of preorders, triggering a shortage.

When preorders opened Friday (local time), Apple's website showed a delivery date of Jan. 25 for the device. Preorder pages in South Korea and China listed a similarly delayed date of Jan. 22.

Both dates are roughly three months after Oct. 23 — the official launch date Apple announced at last month's product event.

The delivery delays apply across both available colors — Star White and Night Sky — and all storage capacity options.

The shortage has raised the prospect of customers camping out overnight in front of stores to secure a unit on launch day.

Analysts attribute the scarcity to a combination of overwhelming demand for Apple's first foldable and supply constraints stemming from production yield issues.

Analysts expect the iPhone Duo to be a strong seller despite a starting price of $1,999 — 3.29 million won in South Korea.

Bloomberg Intelligence forecast that iPhone Duo sales could surpass the earlier projection of about 14 million units, with revenue potentially exceeding $28 billion.

At the same time, concerns persist over supply, with reports pointing to a high defect rate tied to the device's complex manufacturing process.

Nikkei Asia reported last month that Apple's extremely strict quality-control standards had kept initial daily output at just a few hundred units. MacRumors, an Apple-focused publication, also cited Chinese outlet Jiemian News as saying the iPhone Duo was facing production constraints.

The iPhone Duo is the first major product launch under John Ternus, who took over as Apple's CEO last month.


spa@heraldcorp.com