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Preorder Here: How to Get the Apple iPhone Duo Before January

The new foldable iPhone Duo is backordered into 2027 if you preorder it at Apple. Here’s where to preorder it instead.

By Matt Jancer | Reviewed by Nick Stockton

October 16, 2026, 3:52pm

Preordering at Apple shows that, at least for some configurations, orders won’t ship out until January 2027. And that’s what it’s showing today, Friday, October 16, the first day on which anybody can preorder the iPhone Duo. That date will just continue to slip as Friday rolls into Saturday, and into next week, and so on as more and more people preorder at Apple.

Apple isn’t the only game in town. There are iPhone Duos ripe for plucking at a bunch of other retailers, and they’re showing ship dates in October and, at the latest (at least, as of right now), November.

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patience not necessary for these preorders

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iPhone Duo (opens in a new window)

Available at Best Buy

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Available at Verizon

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Available at AT&T

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Available at T-Mobile

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Apple’s competitors—namely, Samsung—have been all-in on foldable smartphones for years as Apple has bided its time. Whether it’s perfected the folding smartphone in the iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone ever, is still up in the air. But you can be among the first people on the planet to find out if you preorder one

The starting price is $1,999 for a 256 GB model, with increased storage ramping up the price. The 512 GB model is available now, with 1 TB and 2 TB models to follow.

When fully open, the Duo’s 7.6″ display becomes the thinnest iPhone that Apple has ever made at 5.2mm. That’s even thinner than the 5.6mm-thick iPhone Air, which itself debuted last autumn as a far thinner alternative to the regular iPhone line. The Duo’s outer screen measures 5.4″ when closed, which makes it about 90% as big as the iPhone 18 Pro’s 6.3″ screen

Colors are Night Sky (black) and Star White. I have to say that I’ve never been as dazzled by a white iPhone as I am by Star White. Walmart shows all colors and configurations sold out for the iPhone Duo. I’m including the link in case it’s restocked and the situation changes. And if you’re dead-set on buying directly from Apple, either by having it shipped to you or reserving one for pickup in an Apple retail store, you can preorder it at Apple here.

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