Apple introduced its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, early last month across global markets, including India. While the phone is not yet available in physical stores, the company is preparing for a significant retail push ahead of its official sale date on October 23. Pre-orders are scheduled to open this Friday, October 16, though buyers are advised to act quickly because launch stock is expected to face constraints stemming from production delays.
According to industry reports, Apple intends to ensure that visitors instantly notice the new folding phone upon entering any official retail location. To maximize hands-on opportunities for as many consumers as possible, the tech giant is dispatching an unusually high volume of demonstration units to its storefronts.
The flagship Fifth Avenue location in New York is slated to receive the largest deployment, featuring more than 150 demo units allocated for customer sessions, storefront displays, and a distinct dedicated area. Meanwhile, the Apple Park Visitor Centre in Cupertino will obtain approximately 100 units, while prominent stores situated in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Manhattan will each secure between 30 and 40 devices. Standard Apple retail locations will average roughly 20 units each, indicating that patrons visiting smaller branches might experience longer wait times to test the device.
To emphasize the unique folding mechanism, Apple is establishing specialized display zones known as The Avenue along the lateral walls of its stores. Several flagship branches will additionally feature central spotlight tables equipped with custom fixtures designed to highlight the folding and unfolding mechanics. Furthermore, the company plans to introduce custom MagSafe stands that display an unfolded iPhone Duo beside two conventional iPhones, enabling shoppers to directly compare screen dimensions and test the device's StandBy mode without the hardware being rigidly locked to the tabletop.
The iPhone Duo is built with a 7.6-inch internal folding main display alongside a 5.4-inch external cover screen. Powered by Apple's advanced A20 Pro processor, the device incorporates 12GB of RAM, a base storage capacity of 256GB, and the updated iOS 27 operating system. Imaging capabilities are handled by a dual 48-megapixel rear camera system. In India, the smartphone is set to become available on October 23 with a starting price of Rs 2,99,900.