Episode summary
iPhone Duo hits store shelves
Summary
Apple’s iPhone Duo drew crowds outside the company’s flagship New York store as the doors opened, with buyers lining up since Wednesday morning and some preordered slots reportedly pushed into late January. MacKenzie Sigalos said Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak told her the early preorders were “off the charts” and denied that production problems were causing the wait, framing the rollout as a normal ramp.
The device is positioned as a premium, high-margin product rather than a mass-market volume driver. Sigalos cited Morgan Stanley supply-chain checks suggesting Apple will produce 6.5 million units in the second half of the year, and noted the phone starts at $2,000, scaling to $3,200. Even with the broader smartphone market headed for its worst year on record, she said Apple has been gaining share by leaning into premium buyers.
A big question is whether Apple can make foldables mainstream in the U.S., where Samsung and Google have struggled. Sigalos said foldables are only about 2% of global smartphone unit sales but about 7% of revenue, with that share expected to rise to 10%. The other test is software support: many apps still need updates for the Duo’s format, though Apple is betting developer adoption will follow as it did with the iPad.
Key takeaways
- MacKenzie Sigalos said Apple is treating the iPhone Duo as a premium, high-margin product, not a mass-market device.
- Morgan Stanley’s supply-chain checks point to 6.5 million Duo units in the second half of the year, a relatively low volume for Apple.
- Sigalos said preorders were “off the charts,” and some shoppers who ordered early still could not get delivery slots before late January.
- Foldables are only about 2% of smartphone units but about 7% of revenue, a mix that could rise to 10% if the category scales.
- Apple’s biggest execution risk is app optimization, especially for widely used Google apps that still need updates for the Duo screen.
Notable quotes
“THE PREORDERS WERE OFF THE CHARTS AND PUSHED BACK ON, REPORTING THAT PRODUCTION PROBLEMS ARE BEHIND THESE LONG WAITS”
“THIS IS A HIGH REVENUE, HIGH MARGIN PRODUCT THAT DOESN'T NEED TO BECOME MASS MARKET TO BOOST IPHONE REVENUE”
“YOU'RE LOOKING AT 2% OF OVERALL GLOBAL SMARTPHONE SALES GOING TOWARD FOLDABLES, BUT THAT ACCOUNTS FOR 7% OF OVERALL SMARTPHONE REVENUE”
“THE POINT BEING, THIS IS A HIGH MARGIN PHONE THAT EVEN IF YOU HAVE FEWER UNIT SALES, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE HIGHER MARGINS ON THESE DEVICES”
“THEIR BET IS THAT YOU BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME”
How the episode opens
Special. And then I think we want to build a self-sustaining company. — Okay. Asher. It's, it's nice to see you. We look forward to following your progress. — Thank you. Thanks for having me. — Thanks. — And there you have it. We're looking at pictures of the iphone duo hitting the store shelves, and these are the crowds pushing in to try and get their hands on these things. Our MacKenzie Sigalos is outside of Apple's flagship store in new york city, where those doors just opened. Hey, mac. Hey. Good morning becky. The doors now open behind me at Apple's flagship shop because people want.
To get their hands on this. This is the iphone duo. They have been lining up since wednesday morning, a line that more than tripled since I was here last night at 8 p.m.
At the doors. We're not seeing john powers, but we are seeing Apple's marketing chief, greg joswiak. This is the person who really has his finger on the pulse to what the consumer wants.
He really got marketing as the team that decides these tentpole features for the phone. Now, in terms of demand, we're not going to get an official read on that until Apple guides to the december quarter revenue when they report in a week from now. But Apple marketing chief greg joswiak, who's at the doors right now, he told me the preorders were off the charts and pushed back on, reporting that production problems are behind these long waits, saying that Apple is in a normal output ramp and making these phones as quickly as it can.
You've got morgan stanley with its latest supply chain checks, pointing to Apple producing 6.5 million of these in the second half of this year.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- iphone launch
- consumer electronics
- apple store
- smartphone demand
- stock market coverage
Companies and tickers mentioned
- AAPL
- Apple
Watch the episode
Watch “iPhone Duo hits store shelves” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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