Apple cannot say when the iPhone Duo shortage will end

Shortage without forecasts

At the earnings conference covering the fourth fiscal quarter, Apple's chief operating officer Sabih Khan acknowledged that the new foldable iPhone Duo remains in short supply, but could not say when supplies would normalize. «The iPhone Duo is constrained as of today. Production is ramping up well, and we are working hard to get this revolutionary product into customers' hands faster. But right now it is very difficult to predict when supply and demand will balance out,» — TechCrunch quotes him as saying.

What is happening with supplies

Buyers who missed the pre-order window are seeing delivery times stretching into next year. The carrier Verizon is already apologizing to customers for the delays, offering them gift cards. Back in October, according to the Financial Times, Apple described demand for the Duo as «nothing short of extraordinary»: the device sold out on the company's website within hours of going on sale. The prolonged shortage is especially striking against the backdrop of Apple's reputation as the owner of one of the most efficient supply chains. In an effort to ramp up production, the company announced a deepening of its partnership with titanium manufacturer Perryman, which supplies materials for the foldable device.

Prices and memory

The conference was also marked by another issue: rising memory chip prices due to high demand from the AI industry are hitting all device makers and threaten further price increases for gadgets. Khan noted that Apple has already «reluctantly» raised prices on a number of products. CEO John Ternus said in his opening remarks that the company is «thrilled by the early reaction from reviewers and customers» and continues working to deliver the iPhone Duo as soon as possible.