If you've decided to splash out on Apple's new iPhone Duo, you might be waiting a while.
Pre-orders for the £2,000 foldable opened today, with Apple promising that handsets would ship as early as October 23.
However, many fans have been left disappointed after discovering huge wait times before shipping.
The Daily Mail checked Apple's website at around 3pm BST, and found that the earliest shipping date for any model is now January 22.
'Have to say worst pre-order of any phone I have seen in a while,' one fan vented on X.
Another added: 'A trillion-dollar company like Apple should be better prepared to handle high traffic during iPhone pre-orders. Customers plan ahead and eagerly wait for launch day, only to face technical issues. This shows a serious lack of planning and infrastructure readiness. Very disappointing!'
If you've decided to splash out on Apple's new iPhone Duo, you might be waiting a while, as pre-orders are being met with massive delays
The Daily Mail checked Apple's website at around 15:00 BST and found that the earliest shipping date for any model is now 22 January
Apple announced the iPhone Duo at an event last month, with pre-orders opening at 1pm BST today.
However, as eager shoppers flocked to the Apple Store, stocks quickly dwindled.
Every combination of colour and memory size appears to be affected by the 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 appear to have moved back rapidly as more customers place 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.
All combinations of colour and storage size were affected by the delays, with no option available before January 22
Pre-orders for the £2,000 foldable opened today, with Apple promising that handsets would ship as early as 23 October
Apple Duo: The Key Facts
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
One customer even complained on X that their expected delivery date had shifted from October 23 to November 9 while they were checking out.
The exasperated customer wrote: 'Ordered Apple stuff for years never seen this happen.'
Meanwhile, some customers reported difficulty even accessing the Apple Store website as the sheer volume of demand caused delays.
One Apple fan complained: 'I was online at 12:50 refreshing the App. I wasn’t allowed into the Apple Store until 13:10.'
'The website was down for 4 minutes and wouldn’t let me in. Like.. wtf Apple! And because of that I need to wait till December?' added another.
While one chimed in: 'Seven minute delay puts my delivery all the way into December.'
Demand for the new foldable iPhone appears to be so high that even the O2 store has been experiencing difficulties.
On social media, customers reported being stuck in online queues and facing technical issues while trying to order their new iPhone Duo.
Demand for the new foldable appears to have caused delays for customers using the O2 store, with many complaining of being stuck in a digital queue
One O2 customer complained: 'What the hell's going on with your website shop.... feels like I'm fighting constantly to sign in, click pre order, wait in a queue and nothing happens.
'@O2 you do know that your queue is paused so nobody can preorder the iPhone Duo,' wrote another.
In response, the company wrote on X: 'While we can't confirm if there's an issue with the queue itself, the new iPhone launch is seeing extremely high demand, which can lead to much longer wait times than usual and may make progress appear slower than expected.'
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 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
The outer display measures 5.4in, while the inner screen extends out to 7.6in.
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.