Apple’s first foldable opens in more markets on its first day than its flagship Pro does. iPhone Duo goes on sale Friday, October 23 in more than 70 countries and regions, with 28 more on Friday, October 30.
The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max reach stores five weeks earlier, on Friday, September 18, in more than 65 countries and regions, with 20 more on Friday, September 25. A first-generation product with a higher published floor than the volume flagship is unusual.
Apple’s two iPhone Duo waves
| Date | Day | What Apple states | Exact or floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 16 | Friday | Pre-orders open at 5 a.m. PT | Fixed time |
| October 23 | Friday | On sale in more than 70 countries and regions | Floor |
| October 30 | Friday | 28 more countries and regions | Exact |
Apple lists the channels as apple.com, Apple Store locations, select carriers and partner stores, and it names no carrier or partner.
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A wider first wave than the iPhone 18 Pro’s
| Product | First wave | Countries stated | Second wave | Countries | Floor total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone Duo | October 23 | More than 70 | October 30 | 28 | More than 98 |
| iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max | September 18 | More than 65 | September 25 | 20 | More than 85 |
| AirPods 5 | September 18 | US and more than 65 others | None published | None | More than 66 |
| Apple Watch Ultra 4 | September 18 | Nine named plus more than 50 | None published | None | More than 59 |
Both second waves land exactly seven days after the first, October 30 for the Duo and September 25 for the iPhone 18 Pro, so the foldable is the wider launch at both stages.
More than 70 is a floor, not a count
The only exact country numbers in either launch are the second waves, 28 for the Duo and 20 for the iPhone 18 Pro. Everything else is an at-least figure, so the gap between the two phones could be larger or smaller than the five-market difference the wording implies.
Apple does name 18 of the October 23 markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Türkiye, the UAE, the UK, the US and Vietnam. It names none of the 28 that follow on October 30.
A named market is a market Apple chose to mention, which is not the same as a complete list. Anyone outside those 18 has a launch date only if Apple’s local storefront shows one.
Apple uses the same at-least phrasing across the whole launch, including AirPods 5 and Apple Watch, so the pattern is a house style rather than anything specific to the foldable.
The same hardware in every market, and no stock information anywhere
iPhone Duo is eSIM-only worldwide with dual eSIM, two lines active at once and more than 500 supported carriers, so there is no SIM-tray version for any of the 98-plus markets. The iPhone 18 Pro, by contrast, is eSIM-only in 12 markets and keeps a tray elsewhere.
Apple publishes no allocation, stock or shipping-estimate information for either wave, and a wider rollout is not a promise of supply. Nothing published tells buyers how the 70-plus markets divide the first shipments.
The carrier route is similarly thin. Apple says select carriers will sell the phone, no carrier has published an iPhone Duo offer of any kind, and Apple’s Duo release does not repeat the up to $1,200 carrier trade-in credit it cites for iPhone 18 Pro.
What Apple has not said
There is no list of the 28 October 30 countries and no explanation of why they follow a week later. Apple has also published no time of day for October 23 itself, only the 5 a.m. PT pre-order time a week earlier.
Prices exist on ten Apple storefronts, so buyers in most of the 70-plus markets have a launch date without a published price. The hardware differences against iPhone 18 Pro Max and the full event recap cover what is confirmed.
Pre-orders open Friday, October 16 at 5 a.m. PT, which is the next dated step for every market in the first wave.
