Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple made a "major mistake" by opening iPhone Duo pre-orders on Friday, October 16, despite knowing manufacturing problems would leave supply severely constrained. He made the claim in his Power On newsletter on October 18.
Pre-orders for Apple’s first foldable iPhone, which starts at $1,999, opened at 5 a.m. Pacific. Within 30 minutes, Apple’s U.S. online store showed January 25 delivery for every configuration. Apple has not publicly addressed Gurman’s claim. It has said pre-order demand was "nothing short of extraordinary."
Gurman says Apple put an early launch ahead of inventory
Gurman writes that Apple could have waited for more stock before taking orders. He says it prioritized having the phone out early in its fiscal first quarter, which covers the holiday period, over meeting demand. He expects the shortage to disappoint early adopters.
The claim about Apple’s reasons is Gurman’s reading. Apple has not said how many phones it had when pre-orders opened or whether it expected demand to outrun supply.
The risk was public beforehand. Bloomberg had reported that Apple expected limited availability at launch and had worried that manufacturing constraints could push some sales into November. Nikkei Asia reported in early September that production was only a few hundred units a day in late August. With those warnings out for weeks, delivery dates slipping within minutes was predictable.
Pre-orders opened in 70-plus countries at once
According to Gurman, Apple originally planned to launch the iPhone Duo only in the U.S. and China, with other countries following later. It opened pre-orders in more than 70 countries and regions instead, which spreads the available stock across far more markets.
Apple’s September announcement already listed those markets for the October 23 launch, with 28 more countries and regions on October 30. The wide rollout was public before pre-orders began.
Delivery dates passed Christmas within half an hour
Buyers who ordered at about 5 a.m. Pacific were promised delivery on October 23, launch day. By 5:30 a.m., Apple’s U.S. store listed January 25 for Star White and Night Sky in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. 9to5Mac reported that estimates in some countries, including Brazil, moved into early February.
MacRumors notes that Apple tends to underpromise, so some customers may receive their phones a little before the listed date. Apple’s online store can no longer deliver before Christmas.
Anyone who needs a foldable before then has one already on sale: Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold starts at $1,899 for 256GB.
Walk-in stock on October 23 looks unlikely
MacRumors reported on October 17 that Apple Store employees were told there will likely be no iPhone Duo stock for walk-in customers on launch day. Staff were told to discourage people without pre-orders from coming in. MacRumors says it is unclear how firm the guidance is or whether it applies to every store. Apple has not said publicly whether any stores will have walk-in stock.
Apple briefly offered store pickup during pre-orders, then turned it off. Its online store now says to check back on Saturday, October 24, for pickup availability. That message does not promise stock on that day.
Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile took pre-orders too, and Best Buy sells the phone, so their delivery dates are separate from Apple’s online store. For pickup on October 24, check Apple’s website or the Apple Store app.
