iPhone Duo pre-orders starting this week, Apple preparing special demo

Apple introduced its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, early last month across global markets, including India. While the phone is not available in stores just yet, Apple is now gearing up for a major retail push ahead of its official sale on October 23. Pre-orders begin this Friday, October 16, but buyers will have to be quick, as launch stock is expected to remain limited due to production delays.A big push in retail storesAccording to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, Apple wants to make sure visitors cannot miss the new folding phone when they walk into an Apple Store. To let as many people try it out in person as possible, the company is shipping an unusually high number of demo units to its retail locations.Apple’s Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York will see the biggest rollout, with over 150 demo units arriving for customer hands-on sessions and store displays, along with a separate dedicated section. The Apple Park Visitor Centre in Cupertino will get around 100 units, while major stores in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Manhattan will each receive 30 to 40 devices. Regular Apple stores will get about 20 units each on average, which means shoppers visiting smaller outlets may have to wait longer to get their hands on one.Dedicated zones to showcase the folding designTo highlight the folding form factor, Apple is setting up dedicated display areas called "The Avenue" along the sides of its stores. Several flagship outlets will also get central spotlight tables with custom fixtures built to show off the folding and unfolding action. In addition, Apple plans to install special MagSafe stands that hold an unfolded iPhone Duo next to two standard iPhones. This setup will allow customers to easily compare screen sizes and try out the foldable's StandBy mode without the phone being permanently locked down to the table.iPhone Duo specs and India availabilityThe iPhone Duo comes with a 7.6-inch folding main screen on the inside and a 5.4-inch cover screen on the outside. It runs on Apple’s latest A20 Pro processor, paired with 12GB of RAM, 256GB of base storage, and the new iOS 27 operating system. For photography, it features a dual 48-megapixel camera setup on the back.In India, the iPhone Duo will go on sale starting October 23 at a starting price of Rs 2,99,900.- Ends