Some iPhone Duo customers who were expecting to wait until January are now being told their phones could arrive before Christmas, as Apple continues to bring forward delivery estimates for existing orders.
According to MacRumors, customers who were originally quoted January 25 are seeing updated delivery windows of December 14–21, while others have received even earlier estimates of December 12–14. The changes were reported by buyers on the MacRumors forums and X, and do not appear to apply to every order.
The earlier dates are welcome news for customers hoping to receive Apple’s first foldable iPhone before the holidays, but they do not mean the supply shortage is over. MacRumors says Apple’s U.S. online store continued to show January 25 for new iPhone Duo orders on November 12. Availability can also vary by configuration, country and retailer.
It’s the latest improvement to what began as an unusually long wait. The Apple Post reported that delivery estimates slipped into 2027 within around half an hour of preorders opening in October. Days later, some customers in Japan began seeing their orders move forward by weeks or even months, suggesting Apple’s original estimates were not necessarily final.
Apple has not explained the latest changes. Additional inventory, canceled orders or revised fulfillment estimates are all possible explanations, but there is no confirmed evidence that production has increased enough to clear the backlog. Bloomberg previously reported that Apple brought iPhone Duo to market earlier than originally planned, leaving initial supply particularly tight.
Anyone with an iPhone Duo on order can check its latest estimated delivery date in the Apple Store app or through their Apple Account’s order history. An earlier estimate is encouraging, particularly for those hoping to have the device by Christmas, but customers should wait for a shipping confirmation before treating a new delivery window as guaranteed.