Gurman: Apple Made a "Major Mistake" Launching iPhone Duo Pre-Orders Amid Known Shortages

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple made a "major mistake" by opening iPhone Duo pre-orders on Friday despite knowing the foldable would face "severe supply constraints," MacRumors reports (Joe Rossignol), citing Gurman’s Power On newsletter dated October 18, 2026.

The critique is Gurman’s reported view in that newsletter, not an Apple confirmation.

"Let me cut to the chase: Apple made a major mistake here," Gurman wrote, according to MacRumors. "The company knew there would be severe supply constraints but went ahead with the launch anyway, apparently prioritizing a desire to get the device on the market early in its fiscal first quarter over satisfying demand. That will disappoint many of the early adopters most eager to buy it."

From US and China only to 70-plus countries

Gurman says Apple originally planned to start Duo in the U.S. and China only, then expand later, but ultimately opened pre-orders in more than 70 countries at once, MacRumors relays.

That wider first wave left fewer units for the buyers most willing to order day one—and it showed up almost immediately in shipping estimates.

January 25 within about 30 minutes

Less than 30 minutes after pre-orders began, Apple’s estimated shipping dates for Duo slipped to around January 25 in most countries, MacRumors notes. We covered that window in our notes on January 25 U.S. online estimates and early eBay premiums.

Apple later framed the rush as "nothing short of extraordinary" demand; see our demand-statement piece. Gurman’s Power On read puts a different emphasis: known manufacturing limits, fiscal-Q1 timing, and a simultaneous worldwide open rather than a staged U.S.–China start.

MacRumors also reminds readers that Apple often underpromises and overdelivers on delivery dates, so some January 25 estimates could still move earlier—but that is not a guarantee, and many buyers are already looking into 2027.

Sources

• MacRumors, Joe Rossignol, "Mark Gurman: Apple Made 'Major Mistake' With iPhone Duo Pre-Orders," October 18, 2026 (citing Bloomberg Mark Gurman, Power On, October 18, 2026)