Skip to content

All the news that matters, in plain English.

Latest
  1. Lions play through tears to honour Hyron Andrews as La Rochelle win emotional Champions Cup tie 31-14
  2. France protests end in evening of looting as half a million march and a protester is maimed
  3. Barcelona make it nine wins from nine with 5-2 romp at Real Betis
  4. Liverpool fight back from behind to win 2-1 at nine-man Brentford
  5. Florida stun No. 7 Texas 27-24 as Arch Manning fumbles away the comeback
  6. Japan's MMX Phobos sample-return mission set to launch 20 October
  7. Manzambi's header lifts Aston Villa to 1-0 win at Newcastle
  8. 5th T20I: Rain washes out decider as India and West Indies share series 2-2

Technology

Apple's $1,999 iPhone Duo sells out in minutes; pre-orders resurface on eBay at up to $5,000

Apple's first foldable iPhone sold out within minutes of pre-orders opening on Friday, pushing delivery estimates to late January 2027 — and confirmed pre-orders are now changing hands on eBay for as much as $4,999.99.

By James Calloway · · 1 min read

A person holding Apple's foldable iPhone Duo open at a hands-on event, showing the unfolded display with app icons
Photo: Belgaimage via 21news.be

Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the $1,999 iPhone Duo, sold out within minutes of pre-orders opening on Friday, October 16, with delivery estimates on Apple’s US online store slipping to late January 2027 within the hour.

Pre-orders began at 5am Pacific (8am Eastern) on Friday. Within an hour, delivery estimates on Apple’s US online store had slipped to late January 2027 for every configuration, according to reports from The Verge and 9to5Mac cited by Zotpaper, far beyond the planned October 23 store launch. “Pre-order demand has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Apple said in a statement reported by CNBC via Zotpaper.

The shortage has spawned a fast-moving resale market. Confirmed pre-orders — the physical devices have not yet reached buyers — are listing and selling on eBay at steep premiums, MacDailyNews reported. Dozens of sales are documented, with peak prices hitting $4,999.99: a 2TB Night Sky model retailing at $3,199 sold for $4,999.99, and a 1TB model retailing at $2,599 sold for $4,400, roughly an $1,800 markup in each case. Base 256GB models ($1,999 retail) have sold for $2,699 to $3,800.

The Duo, Apple’s most expensive iPhone ever at $1,999 to $3,199 across four storage tiers, unfolds from a 5.4-inch outer display to a 7.6-inch inner display. “Duo is fast becoming an aspirational foldable,” Nabila Popal, global senior research director at IDC, told CNBC, as reported by Zotpaper — a segment that holds barely 2 per cent of global units but nearly 7 per cent of industry revenue.

Apple typically reserves some units for in-store availability around the October 23 launch, Zotpaper reported, so some walk-in buyers may still find it on shelves.

Source: MacDailyNews — https://macdailynews.com/2026/10/16/iphone-duo-pre-orders-command-up-to-5000-on-ebay-as-apple-shipping-slips-into-2027/ ; The Economic Times — https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/apple-iphone-duo-release-date-1999-foldable-phone-preorders-sell-out-in-us-deliveries-pushed-to-2027-check-date-and-other-details/articleshow/134998641.cms ; Zotpaper (CNBC, 9to5Mac, The Verge, IDC) — https://zot.news/article/apples-first-foldable-iphone-duo-now-available-pre-order-1-p3ybe

More on this topic: all Technology stories

Get Flip News by email

This opens your email app — we add you manually. No account, no spam, no third parties.