Missed iPhone Duo pre-orders? Apple Store walk-ins may be out of luck

Miss the first few minutes of iPhone Duo pre-orders and Apple's US store now quotes a January 25 delivery. Strolling into a shop on launch day won't necessarily fix that, because an iPhone Duo walk-in purchase looks like a long shot.

According to MacRumors, Apple Store staff have been notified that no iPhone Duo units will be available for walk-in customers on launch day. Customers who do not have pre-orders are expected to be discouraged from coming to the stores since it is likely that they will go home empty-handed.

This is a departure from the usual procedure since it is a common practice at Apple to reserve a few units for walk-in customers.

Why did iPhone Duo pre-orders sell out so fast?

Pre-orders opened on October 16, and delivery estimates for every configuration slid to late January within minutes. Launch-day store pickup vanished almost as quickly, Bloomberg reported.

Apple has described demand as "extraordinary", per 9to5Mac. The phone is also scarce by design: Apple's first foldable starts at $1,999, and production constraints were flagged well before launch. 

Counterpoint Research expects roughly six million units this year, which isn't many for an iPhone.

Where to buy an iPhone Duo sooner?

For a chance ahead of the new year, however, MacRumors suggests that either carriers or Best Buy is the way to go, at least in the US. There are no guarantees with either of these options, but both rely on separate allotments from Apple’s inventory.

Avoid buying phones from resellers if possible. According to 9to5Mac, scalpers have already jacked up prices for phones ordered close to the launch date so much that you could end up paying more than $1,999 for a phone that Apple would ship you in January anyway.

There might not be too many people in line at your local Apple store. The whole tradition of camping outside Apple stores could simply fade away if shops indeed don’t receive any extra stock.