Apple’s iPhone Duo launches Friday with limited store stock and delayed Reachability
iPhone Duo launches Friday with limited store stock; horizontal Reachability is delayed to later this year.
Online preorders sold out quickly, with some delivery estimates extending into next year, The Verge reported, citing Reuters. Apple said it would have “limited” iPhone Duo models in stores. Customers in Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates can get the device only with a pickup reservation, MacRumors reported, according to The Verge.
“The pre-order demand for iPhone Duo, our first foldable iPhone, has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Apple said in response to the sold-out preorders last week, according to The Verge. “We are working hard to get this revolutionary new product into customers’ hands as quickly as possible, and we will continue accepting orders online.” Apple did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
The iPhone Duo has a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner screen and starts at $1,999, The Verge reported.
9to5Mac reported that Apple says Reachability for the iPhone Duo will not be ready until later this year. Reachability was introduced in 2014 with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and currently lets users swipe down at the bottom of the iPhone to move the interface down vertically, closer to their reach.
On the iPhone Duo, Apple reportedly plans to offer a version of Reachability that brings content within reach horizontally rather than vertically, letting users with small hands more easily access the left or right edges of the screen with a tap. The concern around reach follows the Duo’s wider outer and inner displays compared with other iPhones; 9to5Mac’s Chance Miller confirmed in his review that the interface clearly favors right-handed use, the report said.
The feature is due later this year, according to 9to5Mac.