Apple has warned that it cannot predict when supplies of its sold-out foldable iPhone Duo will catch up with demand, as component shortages and soaring memory costs put pressure on production ahead of Christmas.
Apple has admitted it does not know when more of its new foldable iPhone Duo will be available, raising concerns for shoppers hoping to get the company’s most expensive smartphone before Christmas.
The Duo, which costs almost $2,000, sold out just over a week after its launch.
Apple said it was facing “constraints” in sourcing key components and that it was “really hard to predict when supply and demand will be in balance”.
Apple chief executive John Ternus also warned of “unprecedented” increases in memory costs as the artificial intelligence (AI) industry pours billions of dollars into data centres.
Ternus, who replaced Tim Cook in September, said he was “thrilled” by the early response to the Duo, while chief operating officer Sabih Khan said Apple was working hard to get the device “into the hands of our customers as quickly as possible”.
The Duo represents Apple’s first major iPhone redesign in almost two decades, but the launch has not been without problems.
Some owners have reported cracks along the inside fold of the screen, prompting Apple to say it would replace affected handsets after identifying an issue affecting a “small number” of devices.
Apple’s latest financial results, covering the three months to September 26, did not include Duo sales because the handset was released at the end of October.
The company nevertheless reported record annual iPhone sales, with quarterly iPhone revenue rising 17 per cent to $57 billion (£42 billion).
Overall revenue increased from $102 billion to $114 billion, while pre-tax profit rose from $32.8 billion to $36.1 billion.
Mac sales also reached a record, increasing 27 per cent to $10.7bn, although iPad revenue fell 10 per cent and sales of wearables including watches and headphones dropped seven per cent.
Khan said most Apple devices were experiencing supply constraints, partly because of difficulties obtaining advanced microprocessors.
He warned the issue could continue into next year, particularly affecting Macs and iPads.
The company is also facing sharply higher memory costs as data centre operators expand capacity to meet demand from AI services developed by companies including OpenAI and Anthropic.
Apple has increased prices on almost all of its hardware products by around 20 per cent, while Ternus said the pressure on memory costs remained “unprecedented”.
Despite the strong results, Apple’s shares fell 1.8 per cent in after-hours trading, as investors assessed the impact of supply constraints and rising component costs.
Apple uncertain about getting more foldable iPhones in stock before Christmas
