Sales of Apple’s first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, began on Friday, October 23, 2026, with queues forming outside Apple stores from Sydney to Los Angeles as buyers chased limited launch-day stock.
In Sydney, the first Apple store to sell the phones, a queue formed before the 8 a.m. opening, according to BusinessWorld, while in Los Angeles customers camped outside three stores, according to ABC7 Los Angeles and Fox 11 Los Angeles.
A $1,999 Phone That Sells Out Fast
At $1,999 to $3,199, the iPhone Duo is the most expensive phone Apple has ever sold, according to Signal Post News, and the first iPhone in years that buyers could not simply order from the sofa on launch day.
Simon Krishnan, a 48-year-old engineer, paid A$3,899, about $2,734, for a Duo with 512GB of memory in Sydney, telling reporters it was a luxury item but that life is too short to wait.
In China, Liu Wei, a 26-year-old healthcare professional who already owns a foldable phone from Xiaomi, queued outside a central Shanghai Apple store from 6 a.m. to get Apple’s first foldable, saying he trusts Apple products after many years of using them.
Why Queues Are Back After a Decade
Camp-outs are rarer than they used to be, since Apple launches shifted toward online ordering and scheduled pickup, which removed the main reason to queue, according to Tech Insider.
A line that forms overnight in 2026 signals something specific: shoppers believe the in-store allocation is the only reliable path to a unit, and the camp-out doubles as a social event for enthusiasts.
In Los Angeles, lines formed at Pasadena, The Grove and Third Street Promenade, three very different shopping areas, suggesting demand did not come from a single enthusiast pocket.
The Duo’s reception is an early test for new chief executive John Ternus, who unveiled the phone barely a week after taking charge in September, and for a niche category where Samsung and Huawei have sold premium foldables for several years.
Launch-day queues are part theatre and part practicality. For enthusiasts, queuing is a social event and a way to be first, but for most buyers there is little benefit in paying a premium or waiting in line for a device that will be widely available within weeks. Checking reservation systems, authorised resellers and carrier stock, and waiting for early reliability reports, is usually the calmer and cheaper route to the same phone.
