Scalpers offer Apple iPhone Duo buyers hundreds extra outside Beijing launch

The iPhone Duo has an eye-popping price tag, but initial interest in Apple's first foldable phone in China appears solid.

On the day of the global launch on Friday, scalpers like Alex Wang stood outside the flagship store in Beijing's popular shopping area, Sanlitun, offering to pay customers an extra 3,000 Chinese yuan ($448) to buy their newly purchased phones on the spot.

"I feel the Duo can be sold with a higher price for half a month," he told CNBC while watching the lines of Duo customers who had pre-booked their phones. "The main reason is the tight supply."

Though foldables are still a niche product globally, China's market is the single largest, according to Counterpoint Research.

Apple fan Mary Tong, who was first in a line of about 100 people at the Sanlitun store, showed up at 6 a.m. to pick up her foldable device.

"Apple has been the laggard," she said. "I think many Chinese do prefer foldable phones."

Huawei is promoting its own AI assistant XiaoYi to boost the Chinese smartphone maker's competitiveness against Apple and other homegrown rivals. Huawei, which already has a broad lineup of foldable phones, launched a new trifold called the Mate XT2 that is priced at about $3,000 on Sept. 7, two days before Apple's Duo announcement.

China's Xiaomi unveiled its own pricey foldable, the 18 Fold, around the same time.

Even before the Beijing Apple store's regular opening hours, customers without a reservation showed up to test their luck to get their hands on the new phone. Apple had said the Duo would not be available for walk-in purchase on launch day in mainland China and would be "limited" in other countries. Each online purchase was restricted to two phones.

Zhang Zheng said he had tried to order one on the site but was discouraged by the delivery timeline, which stretched to January 2027. He said he still wants to buy one.

"I think it will be useful for work and it's cool to look at," he said.

iPhone Duo smartphone sold at Apple Inc.'s Sanlitun store during the first day of in-store sales of the new device in Beijing, China, on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026.

Stringer | Anadolu | Getty Images

While there was buzz about the device itself, expectations for Apple Intelligence were negligible. The company said a version of the AI system is set for beta testing this month for the mainland China market and will include features like live translation, Clean Up in photos, and writing tools.

On Oct. 14, Beijing approved Alibaba AI models for use in Duo and other Apple devices as part of the U.S. tech giant's pending AI rollout in the country. Apple received Chinese regulatory clearance over the summer.

Chinese official media cited ex-CEO Tim Cook on a recent China trip as saying Apple's revamped Siri AI would not be available in the country yet.

Duo customer John Zhao said he had tried Apple Intelligence while working overseas, and it was "nice but not beyond imagination." He expects the Chinese version to be less exciting.

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