Apple says it's 'really hard' to predict when iPhone Duo supply will catch up to demand

• Apple said it can't predict when the iPhone Duo supply will catch up with demand.
• Online delivery estimates for the iPhone Duo were pushed to late January 2027 after preorders opened.
• Memory shortages spurred by AI demand are constraining Apple's product supply and raising costs.

If you're considering Apple’s first foldable iPhone, know that getting your hands on it could take a while.

During Monday's earnings call, Sabih Khan, Apple's chief operating officer, told investors that the company couldn’t say when supply of its new iPhone Duo will catch up with demand.

“So we're thrilled with the initial response on the iPhone Duo. iPhone Duo is constrained as of today,” Khan said in response to questions from a JPMorgan analyst.

“The ramp is going well, and we're working hard to get this revolutionary new product into the hands of our customers as quickly as possible," Khan added. "But at this time, it's really hard to predict when supply and demand will be in balance."

The Duo was released on October 23, following preorders on October 16. The folding phone starts at $1,999 and opens like a book to reveal a 7.6-inch screen. Customers ordering online quickly faced a long wait, with delivery estimates slipping into late January 2027 shortly after preorders opened.

The supply squeeze extends beyond Apple’s newest phone.

Khan said that while strong demand constrained supplies of iPhones, Macs, and iPads during the September quarter, the biggest bottleneck was access to the advanced chipmaking technology used to produce Apple’s processors.

“For the December quarter, we expect constraints on Mac and iPad, primarily driven by memory, as demand has been higher than what we expected,” Khan said.

Apple is competing for memory with tech giants who are pouring money into AI data centers. Business Insider previously reported that Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron supply chips for both consumer gadgets and AI infrastructure, and as manufacturers shift production toward the booming AI market, device makers face tighter supplies and higher costs.

The costs are already weighing on Apple. CFO Kevan Parekh said during the earnings call that, excluding tariff refunds, company and product gross margins would each have fallen about one percentage point sequentially, primarily because of higher memory costs.

The shortages accompanied an otherwise strong quarter. Apple reported $114.5 billion in revenue, beating Wall Street’s estimates, with iPhone sales reaching $57.58 billion.