Apple has confirmed preorders for the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone, will open at 5 a.m. PT on Friday, October 16, with the device going on sale a week later on October 23. The base model starts at $1,999 for 256GB, nearly double the iPhone 18 Pro Max, which launched in September and will now share an October sales window with a foldable sibling for the first time.
The schedule comes straight from Apple’s iPhone Duo page, which also notes a “get ready” period opening October 12 that lets customers fill in account and carrier details ahead of the preorder rush. That four-day head start exists for the same reason all preorder systems have it: the first minutes of inventory are brutal. Past Apple launches with constrained hardware have seen delivery estimates slide within an hour of ordering opening.
Where and when
The launch covers more than 70 countries and regions on October 23. A second wave of markets follows on October 30, with 28 additional countries. Apple has not named all of them yet, and it has not published prices outside the United States. Buyers can order through apple.com, select carriers, and partner stores.
| Storage | US price | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| 256GB | $1,999 | October 23 |
| 512GB | Not yet published | October 23 |
| 1TB | Not yet published | October 23 |
| 2TB | Not yet published | October 23 |
Colors are Night Sky and Star White. The device is eSIM-only worldwide, with dual eSIM and no physical SIM tray, which means switching lines requires a digital transfer rather than a card swap. Travelers who rely on local physical SIM cards abroad will need to adjust, as most carriers in major markets now support eSIM activation, but some regions still do not.
What makes the Duo different
The foldable opens into a 7.6-inch inner panel and folds shut over a 5.4-inch outer screen. Apple claims the inner display is 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max screen, the largest iPhone display so far, while the folded outer screen just edges out the 18 Pro’s own panel in usable area. The hinge uses a titanium cover, and the A20 Pro chip includes a custom display engine able to drive both screens at once. The FaceTime camera sits under the inner display rather than in a cutout or notch, keeping the big screen clean of hardware.
AppleCare+ covers the foldable’s cover layer with a $19 replacement, a detail Cryptonomist highlighted as a sign Apple expects users to worry about the folding screen’s outer surface the way they do with other foldables. Every foldable phone maker has dealt with scratch and dent complaints on the cover layer, and Apple pricing that repair cheaply up front reads as an admission that it will be a common request.
A late October launch, on purpose
Apple kept the Duo out of September on purpose. The company split its fall lineup, giving the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watch Series 12, and Watch Ultra a clean September window without a foldable competing for attention. Analysts read it as a supply strategy too: foldable panels and hinges are harder to yield at scale than flat OLED, and a staggered launch removes single-week pressure from the production lineup.
There is risk for Apple if the launch goes badly. Folded phones are judged on the crease, the hinge, and the dust resistance, and early buyers are unforgiving on all three. CNBC’s Jim Cramer has already told viewers to buy Apple stock on the strength of the Duo, which puts pressure on a product whose demand curve is untested at this price point in the US market. No US maker has sold a foldable at this scale before, and the most direct competition comes from Samsung’s foldables, which have been selling for six years without ever breaking out of a niche.
Wider October for Apple
The Duo is not alone. Apple is expected to launch new Macs through the fall, including M6 updates to the iMac and MacBook Pro, plus a new Apple TV 4K and a rumored HomePad smart home hub with a built-in touchscreen. Software-wise, iPhone Duo will run iOS 27.1 at launch, and Siri AI rolls out in October in French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, giving Apple a broader language baseline for the assistant after a slow start earlier in the year.
What buyers still do not know
Three questions remain open a week before preorders. First, supply: Apple has not said whether Duo inventory will be constrained at launch, and foldable first runs historically are. Second, the rest of the storage pricing, since 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB prices are unpublished and the gaps on top of $1,999 could be steep, a pattern common on Pro-range phones where top storage tiers carry generous margins. Third, the 28 countries in the October 30 wave and international pricing, which carriers will announce as launch day approaches.
Buyers who want the device should set up their preorder details starting Monday, October 12, and treat Friday, October 16, 5 a.m. PT, as the real deadline. Apple’s own dealer and carrier partners have confirmed the date and the setup window, and Apple has not given any indication of a supply overrun. Delivery estimates will slide fast once ordering opens, as they have in past Apple launches with constrained hardware, and buyers aiming for launch-day delivery should be ready to order in the first minutes rather than the first hours.