iPhone Duo goes on sale Friday, October 23, 2026 in more than 70 countries and regions, and a second wave of 28 more countries and regions follows one week later on Friday, October 30, according to Apple’s press release. Pre-orders open Friday, October 16 at 5 a.m. PT, and the phone starts at $1,999 for 256GB in the US.
Apple has named 18 of the first-wave countries so far. The list matters more than usual for iPhone Duo because the phone is eSIM-only everywhere, so where you buy it and which carrier you use are tied together in a way they were not for earlier iPhones. Here is everything Apple has confirmed about where and when the fold arrives, and what it has left out.
Key facts on iPhone Duo availability
| Item | What Apple has confirmed |
|---|---|
| Pre-orders | Friday, October 16, 2026 at 5 a.m. PT |
| First wave | Friday, October 23, 2026, more than 70 countries and regions |
| Second wave | Friday, October 30, 2026, 28 more countries and regions |
| Where it is sold | apple.com, Apple Store locations, select carriers and partner stores |
| US price | From $1,999 (256GB), or $83.29 a month for 24 months |
| SIM | eSIM only worldwide, with more than 500 supported carriers |
| Colors | Night Sky and Star White |
The first-wave countries Apple has named
Apple’s press release says iPhone Duo will be available on October 23 in more than 70 countries and regions, and it lists these by name:
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- Australia
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- Colombia
- France
- Germany
- India
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Türkiye
- UAE
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Vietnam
That is 18 named markets out of a first wave of 70-plus, so the list is a sample, not the full roster. Apple has not published the complete list, and it has not said which countries make up the 28-strong second wave.
Two names stand out. China and India are both in the first wave, which puts Apple’s first foldable in its two largest Asian markets on day one. Brazil and Colombia are also named, so the launch is not limited to North America, Europe and East Asia.
How the Duo rollout compares with iPhone 18 Pro
The timing pattern mirrors the one Apple used for iPhone 18 Pro a month earlier, with a one-week gap between waves in both cases. The difference is scale: Apple names a larger first wave for iPhone Duo than it did for iPhone 18 Pro, and a larger second wave too.
| iPhone 18 Pro | iPhone Duo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-orders | Saturday, September 12, 5 a.m. PT | Friday, October 16, 5 a.m. PT |
| First wave | Friday, September 18, more than 65 countries and regions | Friday, October 23, more than 70 countries and regions |
| Second wave | Friday, September 25, 20 more countries | Friday, October 30, 28 more countries and regions |
| Gap from pre-order to launch | 6 days | 7 days |
| Starting price (US) | $1,199 | $1,999 |
| SIM | eSIM-only in 12 countries, SIM tray elsewhere | eSIM only worldwide |
If your country missed the iPhone 18 Pro’s first or second wave, there is no guarantee it lands in the Duo’s, because Apple has not published either full list. Canada, Japan, Mexico, the UAE and the US, all eSIM-only markets for the 18 Pro, are named in the Duo’s first wave.
Why eSIM-only changes the country question
iPhone 18 Pro drops the SIM tray in 12 countries and keeps it everywhere else. iPhone Duo has no physical SIM slot anywhere, according to Apple’s tech specs, which describe dual eSIM with two active lines and storage for eight or more.
Apple’s press release says more than 500 carriers support the phone. It has not listed them. In practice, that means an iPhone Duo bought in one first-wave country should work on carriers in another, but only if that carrier offers eSIM activation. We cover the travel and switching side of this in our guide to iPhone Duo’s eSIM-only design.
Apple also says the phone is sold through select carriers and partner stores as well as apple.com and Apple Store locations. It has not named the carriers or partners in any country.
What language support looks like at launch
Country availability and language availability are not the same thing on this phone. iPhone Duo ships with iOS 27.1 and Siri AI in beta, and Siri AI launches in English first. Apple’s press release says French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish follow in October, which overlaps with the Duo’s own October 23 launch, but Apple has not said whether those languages will be ready on that date.
Apple Intelligence, the broader set of on-device and Private Cloud Compute features, is available in 16 languages, per the release. So a buyer in Germany, Vietnam or Türkiye gets the hardware on October 23 but may wait for Siri AI in their own language. Our iOS 27 on iPhone Duo explainer covers what the software does on day one.
What Apple has not said
- The full list of 70-plus first-wave countries and regions. Apple names 18.
- Any of the 28 second-wave countries and regions.
- Prices outside the United States in the press release, and prices for 512GB, 1TB and 2TB.
- Which carriers and partner stores will sell iPhone Duo in each country.
- Local pre-order times beyond 5 a.m. PT on October 16.
- Whether Siri AI’s five additional October languages will be live on October 23.
Pre-orders open at 5 a.m. PT on Friday, October 16, and the phone reaches the first wave on October 23 from $1,999. Our iPhone Duo release date and pre-order guide has the timing in more detail, and the full iPhone Duo specs and price rundown covers everything else Apple confirmed.
