Apple retail employees are warning customers against heading to retail locations to buy the new iPhone Duo next week without a reservation, telling shoppers that stores will probably have no inventory available for walk-in buyers on launch day, MacRumors reported Saturday.
Staff members have been advised to discourage prospective buyers from showing up unexpectedly on Friday, Oct. 23, cautioning that unreserved shoppers will likely leave empty-handed, according to Apple Store personnel who spoke with MacRumors. The retail directive follows a frenzy that saw preorder allotments evaporate within minutes on Friday, pushing delivery timelines into late January.
Supply constraints and rapid sellouts
Apple’s online storefront briefly offered in-store pickup reservations when preorders began before disabling the feature. The website now instructs buyers to check back on Saturday, Oct. 24, to see if local pickup inventory becomes available. However, that notice provides no firm promise of stock, MacRumors reported.
The tight availability follows months of reported assembly hurdles. In early September, Nikkei Asia reported that factories were assembling just a few hundred units each day in late August, with additional manufacturing setbacks arising later that month. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman earlier indicated Apple had weighed delaying sales into November before securing enough supply to proceed with the Oct. 23 rollout.
When preorders opened, all configurations across Apple’s U.S. online store were pushed to Jan. 25 shipping windows within half an hour, effectively selling out the gadget for the holiday shopping season. In a statement to the Financial Times, Apple characterized customer appetite as “nothing short of extraordinary” and affirmed it was pushing to get shipments out as quickly as possible.
A costly test for foldable tech
Starting at $1,999 and exceeding $3,000 for the 2-terabyte tier, the iPhone Duo marks Apple’s entry into the foldable arena after years of leaving the category to competitors like Samsung and Google, Yahoo Finance reported. The passport-style handset features a 5.4-inch exterior screen and unfolds into a 7.6-inch display treated with a nano-texture coating to suppress glare and minimize the screen crease.
The phone also introduces new multitasking software capable of running two applications side-by-side or operating in an open, laptop-like position, Yahoo Finance reported. Hardware includes wide and ultrawide rear lenses, a front camera with Center Stage, and a hidden interior FaceTime camera beneath the folding display.
Analysts told CNBC that the high price and tight production align with Apple’s strategy to turn its most affluent customers into higher-spending buyers. Counterpoint Research Director Tarun Pathak told CNBC that Apple’s active base of 1.4 billion devices could easily swamp the estimated six million or fewer units expected to be produced in the near term. Nabila Popal, a research director at IDC, said the device’s scarcity enhances its standing as a luxury status symbol, forecasting Apple could ship roughly seven million units this year.
What to watch next
Apple has not issued a public statement clarifying whether any flagship retail stores will receive limited launch-day inventory. It remains unknown how widely the walk-in warning was distributed across international retail locations, or whether customers will find any available units when in-store pickup availability refreshes on Oct. 24.
