iPhone Duo Sold Out in 30 Minutes. Now Wait Until 2027?

Earlier today, I wrote that if the iPhone Duo sells out, I will call Apple the pros of marketing. I also wrote that maybe they made only 1,000 phones and 2,000 people buy them. The same day, it happened.

As MacRumors and 9to5Mac reported, iPhone Duo pre-orders opened at 5:00 a.m. Pacific Time. By 5:30 a.m., Apple’s U.S. online store showed a January 25 delivery date for all eight configurations. Some buyers even saw January 29. MacRumors says the Duo is now sold out for Christmas on Apple’s online store, and in-store pickup reservations open again on October 24. 9to5Mac’s Chance Miller called it “a massive success”, but also a problem for Apple, because more than three months of backorders is “an unprecedented delay”.

In this article: Did I call it? Yes, but now I see something else · How could Apple launch it like this? · Sold out in 30 minutes: a success? · $5,000 on eBay · “Apple underpriced it”? No · No Duo for Christmas · Will the first units have problems? · Pro buyers paid for the camera. Now they don’t? · $41.67 a month · Ternus: success or fumble? · Will it end like the Vision Pro? · FAQ

Did I call it? Yes, but now I see something else

Earlier today, I thought it like this. But now something else interests me. The delivery date, the way it moves, for me means only one thing: maybe Apple does not even have Duo production under control. And the further it goes, the stranger it gets.

OK, I understand that production can be late when demand is big. But here we don’t know how many phones they had when it sold out in 30 minutes. That is the first thing.

And the second: it sold out, people buy it now, and they will not get the phone for almost two and a half months. Not even for Christmas. For God’s sake, what kind of production is this? Do they make it by hand, two phones a day?

How could Apple launch it like this?

How could they even release it when the most important thing is not ready? Even if you know it maybe will not sell, don’t you have a plan, in case it does, for how fast you will produce it?

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said supply would be limited, after earlier reports of manufacturing problems and low production yield. Nikkei Asia wrote that Apple was making only a few hundred Duos per day.

And if someone thinks they kept the stock low on purpose, that would be different. OK, it sold out. But then it cannot take more than two and a half months to make the next batch. So from now on, we may wait for a new phone even half a year. We don’t know. There are many questions. But the most important one is: how many units did they sell in those first 30 minutes?

Sold out in 30 minutes: a success?

I think people really are ready to pay at least $2,000 for a phone. And that fascinates me. In my opinion, it only supports the corporations, so that later, with time, they can do with us what they want.

Or, in the end, they really had, I don’t know, maybe 2,000 phones made, and maybe 2,000 more people wanted to buy, and then demand would fall. We will see. But I think this hype will show nicely in Apple’s stock price. In my opinion, Ternus is maybe a genius at company capitalization, not only an engineer.

Readers are split. One wrote: “All the people on here and Reddit who said it wouldn’t sell out.” Another answered: “Anything can sell out if you make way less than there is demand for it.” And one asked the same thing I ask: “Could be 10 or a million for all we know.”

$5,000 on eBay

On eBay, as spotted by Vadim Yuryev of Max Tech, a 2TB Night Sky Duo sold for $5,000. Apple sells it for $3,199. A “confirmed pre-order” for the 1TB model went for $4,400. That is an $1,800 markup each.

People, God, I think you are really out of touch. Just to have the phone as one of the first, you buy it at any price. The reseller does business, I don’t blame him, that is his thing. But it means there is demand at such a price.

You buy such an expensive phone from Apple, and you are also able to overpay by $1,800 just to have it among the first? Sorry, this is not an insult, but in my opinion, this is not normal. I think almost every normal, sober person agrees with me.

The most liked reader comment says the same: “The problem is not the scalper, the problem is that there are people who buy this and keep this business running.”

“Apple underpriced it”? No

One reader wrote that Apple undercut itself on pricing, and that the base price could have been $2,500 to $3,000 with the same results. I don’t agree.

Maybe that scenario is exactly what the CEO wants. For God’s sake, then almost nobody would buy it, except people who love to overpay for a gadget. A gadget that falls, and you hold it all the time like a baby. You put a protective glass on it, then a case, and you never hold the real phone in your hand, how it looked out of the box. And you still say they underpriced it?

Don’t forget that people have their ceiling. In my opinion, if Apple raises the price, people will go back to Android. $2,000 for a phone is already too much. Not to mention more.

No Duo for Christmas

Whoever wanted the Duo as a Christmas gift now waits until January. That is madness. And for me, it shows that Apple is not ready to mass-produce and sell these phones.

One reader in Switzerland wrote that he has bought every iPhone since the 3G on day one. This time, his delivery is November 30 to December 9. And on MacRumors, many wrote that this was the worst pre-order experience they had with Apple in years.

Will the first units have problems?

I don’t know. I will definitely not buy the first model. I am afraid of it. I will wait for the second or third model. But we will see on social media what people share.

A reader on MacRumors wrote the same worry: “You have to wonder how many units barely scraped through quality testing.” And the most liked joke in the thread: “For those whose delivery date is 2027, Apple will ship iPhone Duo 2.”

Pro buyers paid for the camera. Now they don’t?

It is true. People who paid for the most expensive models always paid, maybe 80 percent, just for the camera. And now I am curious: these people don’t want the camera anymore? The Duo has no telephoto.

But we don’t know for sure how many units were bought. We don’t really know anything. We know it sold out in 30 minutes. Maybe it is only how to correctly create demand. Or maybe they only now start producing, had nothing ready, and waited to see what happens, to be sure. So many questions are spinning in my head.

$41.67 a month

T-Mobile offers the Duo for $41.67 a month for 24 months. As I wrote earlier today, carriers and different institutions help you buy an iPhone, because they make money on it themselves. I understand the institutions, they do it for the money.

But tell me, what about the people who go into debt because of a new phone? In a year, a new one comes out anyway, and they will want the new version again. In my opinion, such a person should maybe talk to a specialist.

A MacRumors reader put it in one line: “Consumers go into debt and corporations profit.”

Ternus: success or fumble?

As far as I remember, Ternus was behind the Duo from the beginning, even before he was CEO. So this is his baby. A reader called it “Ternus’ first fumble” as CEO.

I still can’t believe it. Today I place a pre-order, and they tell me I get it in the first month of 2027. In my opinion, they are only now learning to build production lines and assemble this phone. What nonsense is this? A phone that costs $2,000, and I must wait like for a Ferrari?

Will it end like the Vision Pro?

It can happen. But the Vision Pro is a completely different category. Understand that the iPhone is a thing almost everyone knows and wants. And Apple itself taught us this. They made something famous out of it, and everyone jumped on it.

Now, when you don’t have the latest model, people look at you strangely. And when someone buys a new model, he shows it like he bought a new house. That is my association.

Featured photo: Phillip Pessar, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This article is opinion.

iPhone Duo sold out: FAQ

Is the iPhone Duo sold out?

Within about 30 minutes of pre-orders opening on October 16, 2026, Apple’s U.S. online store showed a January 25, 2027 delivery date for all iPhone Duo configurations. Only the first buyers get it on October 23.

Can I get an iPhone Duo before Christmas?

Not through Apple’s online store in the U.S., where delivery moved to 2027. Apple Store pickup reservations open again on October 24, and some stores may have very limited units on October 23. Carriers and resellers showed earlier dates for some buyers.

Why is the iPhone Duo backordered?

Apple has not said how many units it had. Reports from Nikkei Asia and Bloomberg pointed to limited supply and production problems, with Apple making only a few hundred units per day. Strong demand also played a role.

How much is the iPhone Duo on eBay?

A 2TB iPhone Duo sold for $5,000 on eBay, and a confirmed 1TB pre-order sold for $4,400. Apple sells these models for $3,199 and $2,599.

How much does the iPhone Duo cost?

The iPhone Duo starts at $1,999 for 256GB, with 512GB, 1TB and 2TB options up to $3,199.

Sources: MacRumors, 9to5Mac, Nikkei Asia, Bloomberg, Max Tech, MacRumors forum readers.

Our Take

A $2,000 phone should not make you wait like for a Ferrari.

In my opinion, selling out in 30 minutes means nothing until Apple says how many units it sold. I will wait for the second or third generation, and for the answer to that one question.