Apple's first foldable iPhone sold out as soon as it went on sale, and the company cannot say when it will be available again. The new chief operating officer, Sabih Khan, said so on a call with analysts on Monday, November 2, discussing the fourth-quarter results. The device, called iPhone Duo, costs $1,999 in the US and £1,999 in the UK.
Sold out and high demand
John Ternus, who replaced Tim Cook as chief executive in September, said he was "thrilled" by the early response. Khan was more cautious: "iPhone Duo is constrained as of today. 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. But at this time, it's really hard to predict when supply and demand will be in balance."
Estimated shipping dates shown for preorders extend in some cases into 2027. Meanwhile some buyers have reported screens cracking along the inside fold. Apple acknowledged the issue, describing a "small number" of affected units, and said it would replace the phones concerned.
A record iPhone quarter
The Duo was not part of the quarter ending in September, yet iPhone sales rose 17% to $57.58 billion. Total revenue grew 12% to $114.5 billion, while Mac revenue rose 24% to $10.79 billion. iPad revenue fell 10%.
Memory and production costs
Apple still faces constraints on advanced processors made mainly by TSMC in Taiwan, and sharply higher memory costs linked to AI data centres. Khan said these constraints are expected to continue into next year, particularly for iPads and Macs. Ternus called the memory cost increases "unprecedented". Apple has raised prices on essentially all its hardware by around 20%.
Full-year results
For the full fiscal year, revenue grew 15% to $479 billion. Research and development spending hit a record $45.77 billion, up 32% from $34.55 billion the year before, with $11.73 billion spent in the fourth quarter alone.
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