The iPhone Duo has finally gone on sale today, with shoppers flocking to get their hands on Apple's first foldable.
Photos snapped in London, Bangkok, and Sydney show huge lines outside Apple Stores.
While pre-orders for the £2,000 foldable opened last week, many fans were left disappointed after discovering huge wait times before shipping.
The Daily Mail checked Apple's website, and found that the earliest shipping date for any model is now January 22.
As a result, it seems many desperate fans have taken the good old fashioned approach of visiting an Apple Store to buy the iPhone Duo.
'This is Apple Galaxy Macau. We're still 48 hours from launch time, but there's already a huge crowd,' one user posted on X, alongside a video of a huge queue.
The iPhone Duo has finally gone on sale today, with shoppers flocking to get their hands on Apple's first foldable. Pictured: Sydney
Photos snapped in London, Bangkok, and Sydney show huge lines outside Apple Stores. Pictured: the Covent Garden store this morning
While pre-orders for the £2,000 foldable opened last week, many fans were left disappointed after discovering huge wait times before shipping. Pictured: people wait in line outside the Apple Jing'an Store in Shanghai
Apple announced the iPhone Duo at an event last month, with pre-orders opening at 1pm BST on 16 October.
Apple Duo: Key specs
Price: £1,999 to £3,199
Storage options: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB
Colours: Star White, Night Sky
Outer display: 5.4‑inch Super Retina XDR
Inner display: 7.6–inch Super Retina XDR folding display
Thickness: 11.3mm (folded) / 5.2mm (unfolded)
Weight: 254g
Battery life: 44 hours using outer display or 31 hours using inner display
Rear cameras: 48MP Fusion Main and 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide
Front/internal camera: 12MP Center Stage camera
However, as eager shoppers flocked to the online Apple Store, stocks quickly dwindled.
Every combination of colour and memory size appeared to be affected by shortages, with no option available before January 22.
'Every variation of the iPhone Duo is sold out until January 2027…..all within 1 hour of pre-orders opening!' one user said.
Another said: 'The iPhone Duo was a disaster; pre-orders are being cancelled, and the website is showing errors, making it impossible to place orders.'
And one vented: 'Worst iPhone pre order day of all time. Good job apple!'
Expected delivery times moved back rapidly as more customers placed their pre-orders.
Early customers reported being offered pre-order times in November or December, while latecomers didn't find any availability until late January.
One customer even complained on X that their expected delivery date had shifted from October 23 to November 9 while they were checking out.
A customer reacts after purchasing Apple's new foldable iPhone Duo at the Apple store in Mumbai, India
People experience the new iPhone Duo at an Apple Store in Taikoo Li on October 23, 2026 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province of China
Park Ha-min, 26, a pre-order customer, celebrates as an Apple Store employee cheers after receiving his new iPhone Duo on its official release day at the Apple Myeongdong store in Seoul, South Korea
The exasperated customer wrote: 'Ordered Apple stuff for years never seen this happen.'
The iPhone Duo comes in just one size, although buyers can choose between four storage options.
The 256GB variant is £1,999/$1,999, while the 512GB variant is £2,199/$2,199.
At the higher end, the 1TB variant is priced at £2,599/$2,599, while the 2TB variant is £3,199/$3,199.
The iPhone Duo shares the same squat, book-like shape as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, meaning the screen is wider than it is tall when opened.
Both the inner and outer screens share the same 1.4 aspect ratio, ensuring that apps don't get distorted or leave dead space when changing between views.
The outer display measures 5.4in, while the inner screen extends out to 7.6in.
Maya Jama took to Instagram to share that she'd managed to get her hands on the iPhone Duo ahead of its release
iPhone resellers holding boxes of iPhone Duo outside an Apple Store on October 22, 2026 in Hong Kong
Users will be able to use the iPhone Duo in any orientation or position, leaving it half open to prop up and watch movies hands-free or holding it partially folded like a book.
Thanks to the new A20 Pro chipset, Apple's new foldable will be able to accommodate multitasking, running different apps on either side of the screen.
Apple says the screen will also support the use of Apple Pencil just like an iPad, making it the first iPhone to do so.
On the back, the iPhone Duo uses the same 48-megapixel camera as the iPhone 18 Pro.
The trillion-dollar rise of Apple
1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1, 1976, as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.
The first product was the Apple I.
1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market.
Steve Jobs unveils Apple Computer Corporation's new Macintosh in California on February 6, 1984
1981: Jobs became chairman.
1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.
1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.
1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.
Steve Jobs, then-chief executive officer of Apple, with the iPhone
2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.
The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.
2007: Apple unveils the iPhone.
2010: The first iPad was unveiled.
2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October from pancreatic cancer.
2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones - the 6 and 6 Plus.
2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services.
2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California, with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.
2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner's face.
Jobs at an Apple event at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California
2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers.
2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.
2020: In March, Apple closes all its brick-and-mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus.
2021: In an online virtual event in April, CEO Tim Cook declares Apple's goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. Later in the year, the iPhone 13 was announced.
2022: In September, the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car crash, as well as an improved camera system.
2023: Apple brings back its 'Home Pod' after the first generation was discontinued. The 'Home Pod' can be seen as an alternative to Amazon's Alexa or Google Home, as it is powered by voice commands.
2024: Apple makes its first steps into artificial intelligence with the release of Apple Intelligence. The features are not all released at once, with many delayed until the following year.
2026: Apple announces a leadership shakeup. After 15 years leading the company, Tim Cook steps aside from his position as CEO to become executive chairman. John Ternus, 51, Apple's widely respected hardware chief, takes as CEO on September 1.