Apple initially considered delaying the iPhone Duo until November and limiting its first release to the United States and China, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The company instead launched the device in more than 70 countries on Friday, October 23, a broader rollout that reportedly came with insufficient inventory.
MacRumors reported Gurman’s account on Monday, November 2, as Apple’s newest device remained difficult to find in stores and carried a delivery estimate of January 25. The report portrays the launch as a decision to move ahead internationally before Apple had built enough inventory to satisfy demand.
“Apple rushed the Duo to market without enough inventory to meet demand,” Mark Gurman said, according to MacRumors.
A wider launch than initially planned
The reported change involved both timing and geography. Apple had initially aimed to “wait until November” and begin with only the U.S. and China, Gurman said. The eventual launch reached a much larger group of markets on October 23, putting the product on sale internationally weeks earlier than the reported original plan.
That expansion appears to have made availability a central issue for customers. MacRumors said the device was hard to find in stores and that the current delivery estimate extended into January. The report did not provide a unit-sales figure, an inventory target or a regional breakdown of demand.
Retail availability adds pressure to the launch
MacRumors also reported that some Apple retail employees had been instructed to warn customers against visiting stores without a pre-order on the October 23 launch date because walk-in inventory was expected to be unavailable. That detail points to a launch in which pre-orders, rather than same-day store purchases, were expected to account for much of the available supply.
- Initial plan reported: a November release limited to the United States and China.
- Actual launch: more than 70 countries on October 23.
- Reported availability: limited store inventory and a January 25 delivery estimate.
The inventory situation also creates a distinction between the timing of Apple’s product announcement and the timing of customer fulfillment. Although the iPhone Duo became available across a broad international footprint on October 23, the reported January estimate indicates that some orders could take substantially longer to receive. Apple has not been quoted in the report as providing a reason for the supply constraint or confirming Gurman’s account.
The report comes during a busy period for Apple’s hardware business. MacRumors separately reported that the company has several other products scheduled for release in November, including new Macs, an iPad mini, the HomeView smart-home display and a new Apple TV 4K. Those launches are separate from the iPhone Duo’s availability issue, but they place additional emphasis on Apple’s ability to coordinate product releases, production and retail distribution during the year-end sales period.
