Apple chose to have perhaps four times more iPhone Duo stock at retail than for sale online on launch day, and even so, most went home empty-handed.
Apple arranged its limited iPhone Duo stock so that most went to Apple Stores instead of to online pre-orders.
Apple described demand for the iPhone Duo as being “extraordinary,” and manufacturer Foxconn has talked about using its international facilities to produce more. Certainly the pre-order stock sold out instantaneously, although a new report suggests there was a reason for that.
According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple elected to route the greater number of iPhone Duo units to Apple Stores instead of keeping them for online pre-orders. Citing people said to be close to Apple’s logistics planning, he says on his “Power On” podcast that as much as 80% of the stock was reserved for the stores.