iPhone Duo Price Starts at $1,999: Costs by Storage and Country

Apple's first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, starts at $1,999 in the US and went on sale Friday, though pre-orders sold out within hours of opening.

That buys a phone that opens like a small book, and for many buyers the practical question is not what it costs but whether they can get one.

Prices by storage tier

Apple's US store lists four configurations, all unlocked, in two colors: star white and night sky.

US prices exclude sales tax, which Apple applies at checkout, according to Insider Paper. Apple also sells the iPhone Duo Case for $79 and the iPhone Duo Folio with Kickstand for $129, per its announcement.

What the $1,999 buys

Apple announced the phone on September 9. Its press release describes an inner display of about 7.6 inches that folds to a 5.4-inch outer display, both with the same aspect ratio. The inner display supports ProMotion, Always On and a peak outdoor brightness of 3,000 nits.

The phone runs on the A20 Pro chip. Apple says the CPU is up to 20% faster than the A19 Pro and the GPU up to 40% faster, with up to 35% better sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro. There are two 48MP rear cameras, a Fusion Main and a Fusion Ultra Wide, a Center Stage front camera on the outside and a FaceTime camera under the inner display.

The frame is Grade 5 titanium, and the phone has an IP68 rating. Apple claims up to 31 hours of video playback with the inner display and up to 44 hours with the outer one, tested on preproduction units. Apple said in the same release that results vary with use, network and settings.

One limitation matters at checkout: the Duo is eSIM-only. It has no physical SIM tray, so buyers need a carrier that supports eSIM.

CEO John Ternus called it "the most transformational change to iPhone since the original," in Apple's press release. That is Apple's own description.

Financing and trade-in offers

Apple's announcement lists the base model at $83.29 a month for 24 months. Its lease option through Klarna starts at $57.99 a month for 24 months, with 12-month terms also offered.

Trade-in values depend on the carrier, the plan and the condition of the old phone. Apple advertises $35 to $885 off with an iPhone 8 Plus or newer. Carrier deals go higher: AT&T lists up to $1,200 and T-Mobile up to $1,000, both with bill credits spread over 24 to 36 months, and Verizon lists up to $840 over 36 months. Credits are tied to staying on the plan, so the headline discount is not a lower sticker price.

Prices outside the US

Insider Paper compiled regional prices from Apple's stores and, in some countries, resellers. Where Apple lists all four tiers, the US numbers carry over to the UK as £1,999, £2,199, £2,599 and £3,199, and India's range runs from ₹2,99,900 to ₹4,49,900. The article does not say whether local taxes are included outside the US and Canada.

Source for the table: Insider Paper.

In Pakistan, the same roundup cites a reseller promotion, Mercantile, at PKR 899,999 for the 256GB model. Its listed prices for the other tiers are PKR 980,000 for 512GB, PKR 1,145,000 for 1TB and PKR 1,390,000 for 2TB. Those are not official prices and could change. For readers comparing against other smartphone prices in Pakistan, the source does not say whether import duties and taxes are included in these figures.

Why you cannot easily buy one

Pre-orders opened at 5 a.m. Pacific on October 16. Daring Fireball reported them sold out through the end of January within three hours, and 9to5Mac reported Apple describing demand as "extraordinary." Yahoo Finance reported that sellers on eBay were asking more than $4,000 for pre-order slots. That is a resale price, not what Apple charges.

Walk-in sales are the open question. Apple said stores would have "limited iPhone Duo available for walk-in customers," as Yahoo Finance quoted it. MacRumors, as cited by 9to5Mac, reported that store employees had been told there would probably be no walk-in stock on launch day and to discourage customers without pre-orders from coming in. Apple's website suggests checking back for availability from October 24, which 9to5Mac says is not a guarantee of stock. Carriers and Best Buy may offer a quicker route in the US, according to the same report.

Apple has not said how many units it built. For context on what the launch could mean for the company, see our Apple stock coverage.