Apple officially launched its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, on the 23rd. More than 100 customers lined up outside the Apple Myeongdong store in central Seoul’s Jung District that morning despite the chilly weather. One customer waited 17 hours, starting the previous afternoon, to be the first to receive the device.
Those in line had reserved in-store pickup through online preorders that Apple opened on the 16th. Due to limited initial supplies, delivery dates for the iPhone Duo have been pushed back to January of next year or later, depending on when orders were placed.
The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable smartphone. Customers who reserved in-store pickup can collect their devices at their assigned times, but some began waiting outside the store the previous day in hopes of receiving theirs first.
First iPhone Duo Buyer Is an Apple Fan Who Waited 17 Hours
The first customer to receive an iPhone Duo at Apple Myeongdong that day was Park Seong-geon, 34, who introduced himself as a creative director. Park said he purchased the 256GB model in Night Sky.
Park, who said he had been the second person in South Korea to buy the iPhone 18 Pro he currently uses, became the first to receive an iPhone Duo after waiting outside Apple Myeongdong for about 17 hours, beginning at 3 p.m. the previous day.
Park said he currently uses not only an iPhone 18 Pro but also an iPad, AirPods and an Apple Watch. “I’ve been familiar with the Apple ecosystem since college, so I’ve never used a smartphone from another manufacturer,” he said.
Park said he plans to connect a camera to the iPhone Duo and use it for work.
“The price is a bit steep, but I plan to use the iPhone Duo for the work tasks I previously handled with both an iPhone and an iPad,” Park said. “Considering its versatility, I think it’s reasonable.”
Like Park, other customers who visited the store that day cited the large display as the biggest advantage of Apple’s first foldable smartphone.
Jeong Woo-deok, 46, who said he had traveled from Naju, said, “I’ve been buying the iPhone Pro, Pro Max and now the Duo, in that order.” He added that what he was most looking forward to was “being able to see a large amount of information at a glance on the iPhone Duo’s big screen.”
Three Major Mobile Carriers Also Begin Official Sales, Exhausting All Preorder Allocations
South Korea’s three major mobile carriers also began official sales of the iPhone Duo that day after concluding their preorder periods.
SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus each sold out their allocated preorder inventory during the weeklong presale, which began on the 16th. However, this means only that the stock set aside for preorders was exhausted; it does not mean all available units have sold out.
In SK Telecom’s presale, the 256GB and 512GB models proved similarly popular, together accounting for 60% of all reservations. At KT’s official online store, the first and second batches of inventory prepared for the 256GB and 512GB models sold out within one minute of reservations opening.
The Star White color was particularly popular. Seven out of every 10 customers who preordered through KT chose Star White.
Apple’s official retail prices for the iPhone Duo are $2,193 for the 256GB model, $2,393 for the 512GB model, $2,793 for the 1TB model and $3,393 for the 2TB model.