iPhone Duo: Apple can't say when more will be in stock

The iPhone Duo went on sale just over a week ago and sold out quickly. Apple's new chief executive, John Ternus, said on Monday he was "thrilled" at the early reaction to the foldable phone. Ternus took over the role from Tim Cook in September. The handset is the company's costly new foldable, and demand has stayed high since launch. Buyers who want one now face a wait, because Apple has not said when fresh units will land.

Apple's new chief operating officer, Sabhi Kahn, said the company does not know when more Duos will be available. Speaking on a call with financial analysts about the latest results, Kahn said it is hard to predict when supply and demand will balance. That leaves anyone hoping for a restock without a date to plan around. The executives did not raise the screen issue during that call.

The iPhone Duo sells for £1,999 in the UK and $1,999 in the US. Some buyers have seen their screens crack. Last week Apple said it would replace any phones hit by an issue that caused a "small number" of the new devices to crack along the inside fold. If your Duo shows that fault, the company's stated position is replacement.

In the three months to 26 September, iPhone sales rose 17% to $57bn. That quarter did not include iPhone Duo sales, which began toward the end of October. Mac sales grew 27% to $10.7bn, a record for Apple. Overall company sales rose 15% for the year to $479bn. iPad sales fell 10% and wearables, including headphones and Watch, fell 7%. Apple also said it sold more iPhones globally over the past year than ever before.

Kahn said most Apple devices still face supply limits, partly from difficulty getting enough microprocessors with "advanced nodes". Most of those chips are made by Taiwan-based TSMC. Those constraints are expected to continue into next year, hitting iPads and Macs in particular. Ternus also flagged "unprecedented" cost increases for memory, as data centres compete for storage. Apple has raised prices on essentially all its hardware by around 20%.