Queues formed outside Apple Stores in Sydney and New York and CEO John Ternus welcomed buyers at a store in Austin, Texas.
SYDNEY: Apple's first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, hit stores around the world on Friday (Oct 23) with a price tag of about US$2,000 and less of the fanfare that accompanied previous iPhone launches.
From Singapore and Shanghai to London and San Francisco, demand was strong but with sales rationed, there were fewer of the round-the-block queues and overnight camp-outs that once marked new iPhone days.
Competitors such as Samsung Electronics 005930.KS and Huawei Technologies have sold premium foldable phones for years and the Duo is a test of whether Apple can reinvent the small foldable mobile market the way the iPhone did for smartphones.
It is also an early challenge for Apple's new CEO John Ternus, the former hardware chief who unveiled the phone barely a week after taking charge in September.
Apple's estimated delivery dates for the Duo had slipped to late January within minutes of pre-orders opening a week ago, as demand outpaced supply. The US company called the response "nothing short of extraordinary".
Apple capped pre-orders at two handsets per customer and limited sales to walk-in shoppers. In China, France, Hong Kong, India and Japan they were only available to those who had ordered online.
In Sydney, where the first Apple store began selling the new passport-shaped phones on Friday, a queue formed outside before opening at 8am local time (5am, Singapore time).
"This is a bit of a luxury item for me, because it's so expensive, but I just think, you know what? Life's too short," said Simon Krishnan, a 48-year-old engineer who paid A$3,899 (US$2,734) for a 512GB Duo.
CEO Ternus played greeter at a store in Austin, Texas, throwing open the doors and high-fiving customers as they streamed in, a video posted on X by CBS Austin showed.
A known car enthusiast, Ternus's Austin visit coincides with this weekend's Formula 1 US Grand Prix in the city, with Apple holding exclusive US broadcast and streaming rights to the racing series.
At Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York, marketing head Greg Joswiak opened the doors to a crowd of customers, social media posts showed. Some posts said people had camped outside the store since as early as 4am local time (4pm, Singapore time).
Mohit Chandel, a 32-year-old San Francisco resident and consultant, had promised his father in Singapore an iPhone Duo for his retirement but forgot to pre-order one.
So when he spotted a dozen people lining up outside an Apple store around 11pm Thursday, he joined them, ordered a bench and pillow from Walgreens and settled in for the night.
"He doesn't know that. All the pre-orders are gone. He's expecting a Duo sometime in the mail so now I have to buy it," Chandel said.
In China, a soft consumer market and rising memory costs have led to six straight quarters of declining smartphone shipments, although Apple's market share has rebounded as some buyers trade up to premium devices.
Liu Wei, a 26-year-old healthcare professional, already has a foldable phone from Xiaomi 1810.HK, but still queued outside a Shanghai store from 6 a.m. for Apple's first foldable.
"I've used Apple products for many years and I have more trust (in the brand), so I bought one on launch day to try it out," he said.
Many queued to pick up pre-orders, while others hoped for limited stock or to browse display models.
Others were resellers.
In Hong Kong, May, 38, who declined to give his full name, bought a 256GB iPhone Duo, priced at HK$17,499 (US$2,231.73), in an online pre-sale and planned to resell it for a profit of around HK$4,000. "A few meals' worth of money," he joked.
Paul Francis, 53, was one of several dozen fans who queued overnight outside London's Regent Street store in pouring rain.
"Some people think it was mad. Including myself," the charity manager said.
MIXED REVIEWS
Early reviews have praised the Duo's design as well as its sturdy and barely visible hinge, a major feat for phones whose prominent creased screen has long been a drawback and potential deterrent for buyers.
But reviewers said camera compromises, including no telephoto lens, and third-party apps still to be reworked for the new display size could disappoint some buyers.
They also said the folded Duo is less handy for the quick tasks most users do daily and several prominent reviewers recommended against it for many Apple customers.
"It's been a lot of fun trying the Duo out for a week, but it feels like I've gotten to use an extraordinarily polished prototype - not a finished product that I'd want to buy and carry," wrote longtime Apple commentator John Gruber.
Tech commentator Marques Brownlee said in a YouTube review that for a regular person who mostly texts and browses, "it is probably a no. But if the US$2,000 doesn't mean much to you, and you like the idea, after the learning curve and getting used to not having facial identification, it is a really fun phone."
In Berlin, YouTube content creator Patrick Wolter was impressed that the Duo works as a phone and an iPad in one.
"I've always found it a hassle to carry around a separate tablet, especially since I already have a laptop and other gear," he said. "In the long run, this will likely end up replacing those other devices."
TOUGH TO FIND
Apple's entry into the relatively niche foldables market could bring the format to a much broader audience, said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president at market researcher IDC.
IDC expects Apple will take 44 per cent of the foldable market value in 2026 on 31 per cent of units. By 2027, it will become the market leader both in value and units shipped, IDC forecast.
"Apple has made a convincing case for this form factor," Jeronimo said after spending a week with the Duo.
"Now comes the next test: turning excitement into availability, adoption and a lasting new chapter for the smartphone market," Jeronimo said.