Apple's First Foldable iPhone Duo Sells Out in Stores as Some Buyers Report Screen Damage

Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, sold out of its limited in-store stock after going on sale Friday, and orders placed Sunday showed delivery estimates stretching into late January. Crowds gathered at Apple Stores from New York to Singapore. Bloomberg reported that each US store received roughly 50 to more than 200 units. One Los Angeles store had none left for shoppers arriving after 6:30 a.m., and a New Jersey store sold out of its 256GB and 512GB models within half an hour, leaving only pricier versions, including a 2TB model above $3,000. Apple sells the 256GB version for $1,999. An eBay scrape of 38 listings found an average asking price of about $4,188, with a $20,000 outlier excluded. In China, where the phone starts at nearly 16,000 yuan ($2,391), reports said prices on some platforms fell below official levels and some customers cancelled orders. Separately, buyers have posted images of cracked screens, dead pixels and lines across the display, and some call the problem 'crackgate'. Apple has said the hinge was designed to minimise the crease and provide lasting reliability.

Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing; only alternative/independent and right-leaning outlets had. The right-leaning Daily Mail leads with durability, citing the £2,000 price and dozens of social media complaints about cracks and dead pixels. It also cites reports of stiffness followed by an audible pop, and screens failing within hours. It notes the January 2027 stock gap and Apple's reliability claim, and says little about sales figures. The alternative outlets take a different angle. ZeroHedge leads with sell-outs, Bloomberg's store allocations and eBay markups, and asks whether demand will last. Global Times reports prices falling below official levels in China and some cancelled orders. The sources agree on the high price and the January delivery wait, but only the Daily Mail covers screen failures.