Apple’s first foldable iPhone sparked a launch-day circus in New York on Friday, with followers lining up for hours — and in some instances in a single day — before shops opened, only to discover some flagship places were already out of walk-in inventory by mid-morning.

At Apple’s glass-cube Fifth Avenue retailer, a video posted on-line confirmed a “massive queue” around 4:15 a.m. as prospects waited for the new iPhone Duo.

By 10 a.m., a Reddit consumer posted that the retailer had “ran out of stock for walk-ins,” including that the remaining line was made up of prospects with confirmed pickup orders.

Customers look at Apple’s new foldable iPhone Duo cellphone on launch day at the Apple Fifth Avenue flagship retailer in New York City on Friday. REUTERS

The frenzy started nicely before daybreak.

One launch-day buyer, Alex Wong, advised The US Sun he got in line at 2 p.m. Thursday — a full 18 hours before the Fifth Avenue retailer’s 8 a.m. opening — and was still only around twenty fifth in line.

Elsewhere in the metropolis, crowds and stock diverse sharply from retailer to retailer, underscoring just how uneven Apple’s launch-day provide appeared to be.

At the World Trade Center retailer, one Reddit consumer wrote that workers came out at 6 a.m. to begin processing orders and that there were “probably 200 people in line.”

The same poster complained: “Many scalpers. Many ordering 2, don’t even know what they’re ordering.”

Another poster at the same location estimated the crowd at “maybe 130 people” and said retailer employees had warned customers there were “very few units” accessible.

At Apple’s Upper East Side location, a Reddit consumer summed up the temper more bluntly: “Apple UES NYC — sold out for walk-ins 😓.”

Downtown Brooklyn supplied a barely totally different image. One earlier submit estimated about 50 folks were outside, while another shopper later reported: “WAITED IN LINE, THEY JUST GOT STOCK. ONLY BLUE AS OF 9:18 AM.”

The run on the Duo comes after Apple warned that walk-in portions at US shops would be restricted on launch day.

The social media chatter suggests the shortage only added to the hype.

In Chicago, one purchaser said he arrived 45 minutes before opening and still managed to reserve a 512GB “Night Sky” mannequin.

Some of the first prospects react after buying the iPhone Duo during its launch at Apple’s Fifth Avenue retailer in New York, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. SARAH YENESEL/EPA/Shutterstock

In Dallas, another said displaying up half-hour before doorways opened was enough to land the configuration he needed.

An Apple consumer in Dallas said he waited 11 hours outside Apple’s University Park retailer to rating a white 512GB iPhone Duo.

But in Ardmore, Penn., just outside of Philadelphia, one shopper said he arrived at 5:45 a.m. and the retailer was “Sold out 7:30ish.”

The same shopper reported that Apple’s King of Prussia, Penn., location offered out shortly after 8 a.m., while close by Willow Grove Park had also run out by the time he arrived around 9 a.m.

JUST IN – Video reveals a large queue outside Apple Fifth Avenue in New York around 4:15 AM as prospects line up for the iPhone Duo. pic.twitter.com/jkLUJyz8mM— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 23, 2026

Apple workers cheer as they open the doorways to prospects for the iPhone Duo launch at Apple’s Fifth Avenue retailer in New York on Friday. SARAH YENESEL/EPA/Shutterstock

He complained about total households buying two telephones apiece, including dad and mom who introduced infants in strollers and carriers into the chilly morning air.

“[S]calpers suck,” he fumed, including that he deliberate to console himself with ice cream while ready until December for his cellphone.

At Delaware’s Christiana Mall, another shopper estimated that 200 to 300 folks were lined up for the new gadget.

In Orlando, Apple’s retailer at the Mall at Millenia stopped accepting walk-in orders by about 8:15 a.m., according to a Reddit consumer who reported that safety guards had been stationed all through the queue and at the cutoff level.

This was the line-before-the-line. 4:15am in Las Vegas (Town Square) with 30-40 folks. Now, most likely 150+ and I can no longer see the finish of the line. pic.twitter.com/r5oeLLo3iw— Wade (@TechDaily) October 23, 2026

Customers wait in line for the 8 a.m. opening to buy new merchandise, including the new iPhone Duo, at the Apple retailer on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Friday. Robert Miller for NY Post

In Colorado, some would-be prospects weren’t even allowed to camp out.

One Reddit consumer said mall safety kicked early customers out of Denver’s Cherry Creek location and barred them from lining up until 7 a.m. The buyer subsequently headed to another Apple retailer in Colorado Springs.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, a social media consumer reported that the crowd outside Apple’s Town Square retailer swelled from an estimated 30 to 40 folks at 4:15 a.m. to more than 150 later in the morning.

In Boise, Idaho, a shopper who arrived at 4:45 a.m. said he was nineteenth in line and managed to buy a Duo.

A buyer holds the new iPhone Duo on launch day at the Apple Fifth Avenue retailer in New York, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Apple unveiled its first foldable cellphone, the iPhone Duo, on Sept. 9, kicking off the period of new CEO John Ternus. AFP via Getty Images

The retailer subsequently offered out, with an estimated 50 to 60 early prospects getting telephones while later arrivals were turned away.

And in Los Angeles, the launch produced dramatically totally different outcomes relying on the retailer.

One shopper at Manhattan Village in Manhattan Beach reported that roughly 50 folks lined up and everyone managed to get a cellphone.

But another Reddit consumer reported that Apple’s Century City location had already offered out.