These sold out fast as “creased” lightning.
Online opportunists are cashing in on the iPhone Duo craze, listing the hinged new devices for as much as $10,000 as they sell out on opening day.
The tech titan’s first-ever foldable phone went on sale online and in-store on Friday, October 23, prompting a mad dash with people lining up days ahead of time to get their hands on the coveted merch.
At Apple’s glass-cube Fifth Avenue store, an online video showed a “massive queue” as early as 4:15 a.m.
By 10 a.m., the Big Apple vendor was reportedly “out of stock for walk-ins,” according to a Reddit poster, who said the remaining customers had placed pre-orders.
Meanwhile, at the World Trade Center store, employees reportedly started taking orders at 6 a.m., by which point there were already 200 people in line, according to another iPhone-witness.
In light of the demand, Apple fans started selling them for resale at insane markups.
That morning at just after 9 a.m., one eBay reseller listed their iPhone Duo 2TB Night Sky for $8,000 while another posted theirs for an eye-popping $10,000 — over three times the purchase price of $3,199.
Similar markups were seen on Craigslist, where one Big Apple-based reseller listed their foldable for $7,999.
“I am happy to negotiate the price, just matching eBay prices considering the time and effort it took to get this phone over two cold days camping outside Apple Fifth Avenue!” the reseller wrote. “I am happy to meet you anywhere around New York 🙂 I really want everyone to experience this breathtaking new feat of engineering!”
Salivating phone fiends were quick to snap up the high-priced second-hand merch, with one eBay buyer purchasing a Star White, 1TB model with overnight shipping that was listed at $5,200.
Similarly unhinged resale prices surfaced after the iPhone Duo sold out within moments of preorders opening on October 16, postponing delivery dates for late buyers until January 2027.
A 2TB iteration of the release was resold on eBay that same day after getting listed for close to $10,000.
The pamphlet-like iPhone Duo notably packs a 7.6-inch inner screen — 80% larger than the iPhone 18 Pro’s screen when folded out — alongside a 5.4-inch outer screen.
Despite the abundance of screens, the titanium gadget weighs just over half a pound and collapses down to just 3 inches like technological origami.
Analysts have claimed that the Duo could help catapult foldable phones into the mainstream, reflecting Apple’s influence on smartwatches and wireless earbuds.
