Apple Caps iPhone Duo Orders at Two Foldables Per Customer
Apple is limiting iPhone Duo purchases to two per customer, a rare restriction for the company, as preorders are already backed up until late January.
Apple has put a cap on how many iPhone Duo foldables a single customer can buy. When CNET tried to add more than two to its cart in the Apple Store, a message said a maximum of two units can be purchased per customer. The limit was first reported by MacRumors earlier this week and will presumably apply in stores too when the phone goes on sale Friday.
Demand already outstrips supply
Preorders are backed up until the end of January. CNET's estimated delivery for an order of two units was Jan. 25 at the time of publication. Apple is expected to have only limited stock in its stores, so buyers hoping to pick one up on launch day may need to queue overnight.
Purchase limits are common for scarce products such as game consoles, but Apple has rarely used them for phones in recent years. The company capped the original iPhone at two per order when it launched in June 2007, later raising the limit to five by the holidays. It brought the restriction back in 2012 with two iPhone 5 preorders per customer.
Carriers and Best Buy offer a workaround
Shoppers who want more than two can add multiple units to their carts at Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Best Buy. However, those purchases require signing up for a line of service with a carrier, and preorders there are also back-ordered until the end of January.
The iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable, entering a segment Samsung and Motorola have contested since 2020 and Google joined with the first Pixel Fold in 2023. Analysts are bullish: the International Data Corporation expects the Duo to take 31% of the foldable market by the end of the year and 40% in 2027. Early reviews have been positive, with CNET's Abrar Al-Heeti saying the finer details make the experience feel fluid and cohesive despite first-generation drawbacks.
Whether the strong preorder appetite lasts through the holidays and into the new year remains to be seen.
