applePre-orders for the iPhone Duo, the company’s most expensive iPhone in history, began Friday, with release-day pick-up inventory sold out and some online delivery schedules already pushed back to late January.
The company said in a statement that pre-order demand was “nothing short of extraordinary.”
“We are working hard to get this innovative new product into customers’ hands as quickly as possible and will continue to accept online orders,” Apple said in a statement.
Apple’s first foldable phone starts at $1,999 and tops out at over $3,000 for the 2TB storage tier. This is the biggest change to the iPhone’s physical design in years and establishes an entirely new price point above the Pro and Pro Max.
The early rush offers the first glimpse of the demand behind Apple’s bet. It’s up to the dramatic new design to persuade customers to spend more and further elevate the iPhone as a status symbol.
But analysts who spoke to CNBC said Apple’s bet is not that foldables will suddenly become mass-market products. That means a relatively small number of the highest-spending customers could see a significant increase in value.
According to IDC, foldable devices are expected to account for just over 2% of global smartphone sales this year, but are expected to account for nearly 7% of industry revenue. IDC predicts that by 2030, this category will account for 10% of smartphone revenue, but still only about 3% by volume.
This gap between volume and value is at the heart of Apple’s opportunity.
“Duo is quickly becoming the aspirational foldable brand,” IDC’s Nabila Popal told CNBC, comparing its appeal to Apple’s broader position as an aspirational smartphone brand.
Apple CEO John Tarnas and Vice President of Industrial Design Molly Anderson unveil the new iPhone Duo at an Apple event held at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park in Cupertino, California on September 9, 2026.
Carl Mondon | AFP | Getty Images
Popal, global senior research director for IDC’s Consumer Devices team, said the technology itself is not necessarily groundbreaking. Foldable Android smartphones have been around for years. What’s new is that Apple has brought that form factor to a huge consumer base already invested in the iPhone ecosystem.
Apple itself has been researching the form factor for over a decade. In 2011, Ternus and five other Apple engineers filed a patent for a foldable electronic device, according to a recent TIME profile.
“It’s not groundbreaking or new technology, but it’s something that Apple has brought to the table,” Popal said.
Duo may also prove to be more accessible than some industry watchers expected.
Moor Insights analyst Anshel Sugg, who attended Apple’s announcement event, said many people expect prices for the foldable iPhone to start between $2,400 and $2,500.
Sugg said Apple’s entry at $1,999 suggests the company “wants a lot of market share.”
Sugg predicts the duo will become “very much a status symbol” throughout the holiday season and possibly into next year.
The attractiveness of its status may be enhanced by its rarity.
Counterpoint Research Director Tarun Pathak told CNBC that the company expects initial demand to outstrip supply.
He noted that Apple has an installed base of about 1.4 billion iPhones, meaning even a small number of early adopters could dwarf the roughly 6 million or fewer that Counterpoint expects to launch in the near future.
IDC also expects supply to be limited initially due to the device’s complexity and Apple’s manufacturing and quality standards.
“Exclusivity is part of the appeal now,” Popal said.
And Apple has engaged in blatant extravagance before.
When the first Apple Watch launched, the company offered an 18-karat gold edition starting at $10,000. Apple also entered into a long-term partnership with Hermès for luxury watch bands and designs.
The impetus came during the tenure of former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, who joined Apple in 2014 to lead its retail and online stores, as the company experimented with introducing more high-fashion expressions and expressions into its stores and products.
Duo is taking that idea to Apple’s biggest product business.
Small quantity, high value
IDC predicts that Apple will ship about 7 million devices this year, or about 3% of Apple’s total shipments in 2026.
IDC analyst Popal predicts that Duo shipments could increase by another 70% next year. That would give Apple about 40% of the global foldable market, making it the biggest player in the category, surpassing Samsung and Huawei.
According to her predictions, Apple could ship as many Duos in the next six months as previous category leaders shipped in 2025.
But the more important number for Apple may not be unit sales.
Analysts say the majority of Duo’s customers are expected to be existing iPhone owners, including consumers who would otherwise have bought the Pro Max and are now looking to upgrade to a device that costs hundreds of dollars more.
Apple’s ecosystem allows users to move between the Duo and their primary iPhone relatively seamlessly, so some companies may choose to add the Duo as a second smartphone.
Popal said the shift from high-end iPhones costing about $1,200 to devices costing closer to $2,000 should provide a “healthy boost” to Apple’s revenue, even if overall unit sales are relatively low.
JP Morgan also reached a similar conclusion.
The bank expects Duo to have a disproportionate impact on iPhone revenue due to its much higher average selling price, even though overall iPhone shipments are expected to remain roughly flat next year.
JPMorgan said the iPhone 18 cycle is increasingly likely to be driven by price and product mix, rather than unit sales growth.
DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria said Apple needs Duo to succeed as it faces tough revenue competition during its strongest upgrade cycle in years.
“Without the growth from Duo, we might see pretty mediocre revenue growth,” Luria told CNBC.
The device gives Apple several ways to generate that euphoria, he added.
By attracting loyal Apple customers who might have otherwise bought the Pro Max, it’s driving up the company’s average selling price. This could capture some consumers who previously bought foldable Android smartphones because Apple didn’t offer one. And it could bring a halo to the rest of the iPhone lineup.
Luria said some consumers will visit the Apple Store specifically to see the Duo, but “they’ll probably walk away with a half-price iPhone or iPhone Pro.”
That means Duo could potentially help Apple even if someone decides not to buy it.
The iPhone 18 Pro’s launch period has eased in some markets compared to previous cycles, but the more expensive Pro Max is holding up better, according to JPMorgan research.
Separately, Morgan Stanley said its supply chain inspections are consistent with unusually early parts order reductions for the Pro and Pro Max, but the company has not yet seen evidence that these adjustments led to cuts in finished iPhone production.
This puts additional pressure on Duo to lure buyers to the top of Apple’s lineup.
Promoting higher-end iPhones
Apple’s move toward more expensive iPhones comes as economic conditions for the overall smartphone market have become increasingly difficult.
Consumers are already using their phones for longer periods of time, and global smartphone growth is slowing.
TechInsights analyst Wayne Lamb said moving the iPhone further into the premium market gives Apple another way to protect the revenue generated from its most important product.
“Given the iPhone is almost 20 years old, and given Apple’s position in the market, there is no other place to turn,” Lam told CNBC.
With smartphone sales expected to slow, he said, “Moving into the premium market will allow Apple to maintain the all-important iPhone revenue it reports every quarter.”
Lam explained that Duo is not designed for the average consumer, but rather an aspirational or luxury product.
But unlike Apple’s Vision products, he believes flip phones have a path to becoming a larger category over time, especially as artificial intelligence changes the way consumers interact with their devices.
The trade-off is that by raising prices, consumers may wait longer to upgrade.
Lam said rising iPhone prices could further lengthen an already long upgrade cycle, creating what he described as a potential negative feedback loop, where devices become more expensive, consumers hold onto them longer, and overall demand falls.
Still, Lam expects demand for the Duo to be high compared to the initial limited supply, and said the device “could set the standard for future premium iPhones.”
WATCH: Demand for Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro in doubt: Here’s what you need to know
