Apple's iPhone Duo Sells Out in Hours of India Launch Amid Strong Demand

Apple’s first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, sold out across online platforms and offline retail stores within the first couple of hours of its India launch on Friday, as strong consumer demand met limited initial supplies. Retailers said their entire inventory had been exhausted across variants, with no clear timeline for replenishment. Stores in Delhi-NCR and other parts of the country saw queues of consumers looking to buy the device as well as experience it in person, retailers said. The shortage extended to quick commerce, with Blinkit chief executive Albinder Dhindsa saying on X on Friday morning that the platform’s entire allocation in Delhi-NCR sold out within five minutes of the phone going live at 8:15 am. “We’re working on getting more stock in the coming weeks,” Dhindsa said. The phone was out of stock on almost every online platform during the day, with retailers saying they had no clear timeline for replenishment. The supply situation appears tighter than last year, according to a multi-brand retailer, who said allocations to such stores were substantially lower than those to Apple’s own outlets. Some retailers received as few as five to seven units, despite demand far exceeding the available stock. The All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), which represents more than 1.5 lakh mainline mobile trade partners nationwide, said initial allocations of Apple’s latest iPhone portfolio, particularly the flagship Duo, remained critically restricted despite strong demand. “While consumer bookings require at least 100 handsets across top-tier models, actual dispatches have dropped to an alarming 5 to 7 pieces for many retailers,” an AIMRA spokesperson said. The association added that even some large-format retail stores operating hundreds of outlets had more demo and display devices than saleable units allocated to them. “But display units are tied up as non-saleable stock for more than a year,” a retailer said. According to AIMRA, retailers have stopped accepting advance bookings and are unable to guarantee delivery timelines, leaving customers waiting for fresh supplies. The shortage has also sparked grey market deals with some consumers willing to pay ₹25,000 to ₹1 lakh above the printed maximum retail price (MRP) to secure a handset. “Mainline retailers remained committed to selling at MRP to preserve long-standing customer relationships,” AIMRA spokesperson said. Swarn Bajaj, founder and chief executive officer of P3S Ventures which runs apple retail chain iNvent said demand had been several times higher than the company’s initial allocation, with its entire first lot booked before launch. “As a result, we have not been able to accommodate walk-in purchases, although we continue to see a large number of customers visiting our stores to experience the new devices,” he said. Bajaj said there was a growing preference for upgrades and exchanges in the premium smartphone segment, with consumers increasingly looking to trade in existing devices to access newer technology. The iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable iPhone, starts at ₹2,99,900 in India for the 256GB variant and goes up to ₹4,49,900 for the 2TB model. Pre-orders opened on October 16, and the first week’s inventory had been booked before Friday’s retail launch.