There’s Still a Chance You Could Score an iPhone Duo in Stores Today
Apple Jingan Shanghai customers with iPhone Duo purchases [Apple]
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The iPhone Duo has officially landed in Apple Stores in most of the world, and it appears that reports of limited walk-in availability may have been slightly exaggerated.
That’s not to say that Apple has a ton of inventory of its highly anticipated new foldable. But, as Apple’s marketing chief Greg “Joz” Joswiak predicted to TechRadar yesterday, the company does appear to “have some happy customers.”
That’s certainly refreshing after the crazy rush on preorders last Friday, which saw shipping times slipping into an unprecedented January 2027 only minutes after the floodgates opened at 8:00 a.m. ET. By 8:30 a.m., not a single configuration, from the $1,999 256 GB entry-level model to the $3,199 2 TB model, was available to ship before the end of 2026.
Of course, Apple always reserves stock for walk-ins, which Joz confirmed outright:
You know, we didn’t ship them all away during the pre-order, we have them available at the stores, we’re excited. I’ll be at 5th Avenue in the morning, my favorite place to launch iPhone, and I’m sure we’ll have some happy customers.
Greg Joswiak
That’s encouraging after reports last weekend that Apple Store employees were told to warn customers away. Perhaps this was merely about managing expectations, or maybe some wires got crossed in the chain of communication, but whatever the reason, Apple wanted to ensure that message didn’t stay too bleak. It sent out statements on Wednesday clarifying that almost all Apple Stores in key countries would have “limited” stock available of the new iPhone Duo, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and much of Europe.
The notable European exception is France, which may be due to the ongoing unrest in Paris, as it seems like an odd omission. There also won’t be in-store inventory in China mainland, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, or the UAE.
With most Apple Stores opening at 8 a.m. local time, it wasn’t long before Apple began sharing pictures of joyful folks walking out from Apple Jing’an in Shanghai with their first iPhone Duo in hand.
On Friday, October 23, the highly anticipated iPhone Duo made its debut at Apple Store locations worldwide. Across the globe, customers filled stores and team members invited them to experience the first foldable iPhone, offering hands-on demos and personalized shopping support.
Even so, some customers began lining up in the wee hours of the morning just to ensure they’d be able to snag Apple’s new foldable, so saying these were simple “walk-ins” might be a bit of a stretch.
Apple staff at various stores were also reportedly circumspect about saying how much stock they actually have, which has left many customers in the lines guessing whether they’ll have any success.
The situation may also vary widely by location and country, as the folks at MacRumors noted that they were able to buy an iPhone Duo at Apple Edinburgh early this morning without any issues, where staff told them they’d received “more units than expected.”
If you’re still hoping to pick up an iPhone Duo today, you’ll need to call your local Apple Store or take a chance and walk in. In-store pickup orders aren’t live yet, with the online Apple Store telling customers to check back tomorrow for availability — likely to ensure launch-day stock goes to people waiting at the doors.
