Apple Allocated 80% of Initial iPhone Duo Stock to Stores [Gurman]

Apple allocated roughly 80 percent of its initial iPhone Duo inventory to retail stores, leaving just 20 percent for deliveries and pickup reservations, according to Mark Gurman.

Speaking on the Power On podcast, he said the figures came from people close to the phone's logistics. "So for the most part, if you were getting an iPhone Duo in-store on day one, you were getting it by waiting in line."

Depending on the location, stores received roughly 50 to 250 iPhone Duos for launch day. That included phones reserved for pre-order pickup and those available to customers waiting in line.

A week after launch, customers were still camping outside Apple Stores in Los Angeles every night to try to buy an iPhone Duo, local staff told Gurman. "I've never seen this before for a new Apple product," he said.

Online buyers faced a long wait almost immediately. Delivery estimates slipped into January 2027 within minutes of pre-orders opening on October 16. Apple had originally planned a late November launch in just the U.S. and China, but released the phone on October 23 in more than 70 countries and regions.

Production is still concentrated at Foxconn in China. The initial order of roughly 8 million phones extends into 2027, rather than representing the number Apple expects to deliver before the end of this year.

The shortage has also made it harder for some owners to replace faulty phones. Apple acknowledged an inner-display issue on October 26 affecting a small number of units and directed those customers to AppleCare.

While some customers have received replacements, most of the affected owners he knew were still waiting. A friend whose camera failed straight out of the box had also been unable to find a replacement.