iPhone Duo Preorders Push Delivery Into 2027, and Gurman Calls It a Mistake

Apple opened preorders for the iPhone Duo on Friday, October 16, and within hours the estimated delivery dates had moved from late October to January. Apple called demand “nothing short of extraordinary” in a statement shared with CNBC, 9to5Mac reported that afternoon. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has since argued in his Power On newsletter that Apple made a major mistake by taking orders before it had enough stock to meet them.

What happened on the first day.

According to 9to5Mac, estimated delivery dates slipped from late October into November, then December, and eventually January. In some countries, including Brazil, deliveries were pushed into early February. AppleInsider reported that by Friday afternoon the dates for every iPhone Duo configuration had moved into late January, regardless of storage size or colour. Customers who missed Friday's preorder window may not receive the phone until early 2027. AppleInsider says the phone will be on sale in stores on October 23. 9to5Mac cites a starting price of $1,999, and resellers on eBay and X have listed units for as much as $10,000.

What Gurman says went wrong.

In his newsletter, published on October 18, Gurman wrote that Apple knew the phone would face severe supply constraints from manufacturing challenges, yet began preorders anyway instead of waiting for more inventory. According to MacRumors' summary, Apple had planned to launch first in the United States and China, but opened preorders in more than 70 countries at once. Gurman said the early launch in Apple's fiscal first quarter appears to have been given priority over meeting demand. MacRumors reports that less than 30 minutes after preorders opened, estimated shipping dates slipped to around January 25 in most countries.

Why the shipping dates matter.

For buyers, the practical question is timing. A phone that now ships in late January arrives well after the holiday season that normally drives launch sales. For Apple, the dates show how tightly it is managing inventory for a launch spread across dozens of countries at once. The company has not said how many units it has ready, and AppleInsider notes that Apple never discloses how many units it has on hand on launch day.

What Apple has said, and what it has not.

Apple's only public comment in the coverage reviewed is the line about demand given to CNBC. MacRumors' account of the Gurman newsletter says it found no direct response from Apple to the “major mistake” criticism. The reporting does not describe any change to the shipping schedule beyond the slips already listed.

What is still unknown.

The sources do not say how many iPhone Duo units were available on launch day, how many preorders were placed, or whether the January estimates will hold. The $1,999 figure is the starting price cited by 9to5Mac, and the coverage reviewed does not give a full list of configurations or prices. Readers planning to buy in a specific country can check when store availability starts in their own time zone with the free world clock at /en/world-clock.