Apple's iPhone Duo pre-orders sell out in seconds in China, with some deliveries delayed until next year
An Apple store in Beijing (Photo: VCG)
Apple's first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, priced starting at nearly 16,000 yuan ($2,391) in China, did little to dampen the enthusiasm of Apple fans rushing to buy it.
Pre-orders opened at 8 pm on Friday, and the initial allocation quickly sold out. The strong demand underscores the enormous potential and robust purchasing power of China's consumer market, a Chinese expert said.
As of press time on Saturday, Apple's official website showed an expected delivery date of January 22, 2027. On Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com, all models in the iPhone Duo series were out of stock, and on Apple's official flagship store on Tmall, an estimated delivery window had been pushed back to January 2, 2027.
Meanwhile, the rapid sellout of the initial stock has driven up the "scalper prices" for the iPhone Duo. Global Times asked several sellers on Chinese secondhand trading platform Xianyu and found that the markup on the first batch of iPhone Duo stock is generally over 4,000 yuan.
A veteran Apple fan surnamed Tao told the Global Times that he grabbed one on his phone last night, buying the most expensive 2TB version. He said that it was extremely popular on Taobao at the time and sold out in an instant; he succeeded in placing an order on the Apple Store app only after refreshing it repeatedly.
At the time of ordering, it showed delivery in early November, but after the order was confirmed, the estimated shipping time was pushed back by a week - roughly November 14 to 21, Tao said.
The iPhone Duo, Apple's first flip phone, is on display at one of the company's product launch events on September 9, 2026. (Photo: VCG)
Notably, on Tmall, although the iPhone Duo was not yet available, many consumers had already begun purchasing accessories such as iPhone Duo phone cases. A top-selling iPhone Duo phone case was priced at 192 yuan and showed more than 300 units sold.
The strong pre-order demand shows that Chinese consumers still have a strong appetite for high-quality products, and the Chinese consumer market still has enormous potential and tremendous purchasing power, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Saturday.
TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo noted in an industry survey that assembly shipments of the foldable iPhone in the second half of 2026 will be 7 million to 8 million units, of which third-quarter shipments will be between 500,000 and 1 million units, according to financial news outlet 21jingji.com.
The frenzy over the iPhone Duo coincides with Tim Cook's China visit. As executive chairperson of Apple Inc, Cook kicked off the trip on October 11 with an arrival in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province. This marks his first China tour since stepping down as CEO on September 1.
In a meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Thursday, Cook said that Apple is optimistic about China's development prospects, will further expand its business in China, and is willing to play an active role in promoting the stable and sound development of US-China economic and trade relations, according to the Ministry of Commerce.