Apple's Foldable iPhone Duo Draws Crowds and Sends the Stock to a Record

Apple's long-rumored entry into foldable phones arrived in stores on Friday, and shoppers showed up in force. The iPhone Duo, the company's first folding-screen device, drew crowds to flagship stores in major cities worldwide, and Apple warned that supplies in stores would be limited because of strong preorders and production constraints. The launch marks the most significant change to the iPhone's form in years, as Apple joins a foldables market long led by Asian rivals.

The device opens like a book in what Apple describes as a passport-size handset. It carries a 5.4-inch external display for everyday use and unfolds to reveal a 7.6-inch internal screen closer in size to a small tablet. It is priced accordingly: the Duo starts at $1,999 and tops out at $3,199, placing it firmly at the premium end of the smartphone market and testing how much consumers will pay for a phone that doubles as a tablet.

Investors liked what they saw. Apple stock spiked to an intraday record high of 351.73 on Friday before pulling back to close down a fraction at 347.73. Analyst Dan Ives, who rates the stock outperform with a price target of 400, said the packed launch at the company's New York flagship reinforced his view that Apple has a hit on its hands, pointing to a level of consumer enthusiasm for a new iPhone design that he said had been missing from recent launch cycles.

The early demand appears to have caught even Apple's supply chain by surprise. Taiwan-based technology publication DigiTimes reported that Apple has told its contract manufacturer Foxconn to increase Duo production by 44 percent based on early demand, aiming to build 14 million units over 12 months, up from a previous goal of 9.7 million. Scaling a folding display at that volume would be a significant manufacturing undertaking, and suppliers are often the bottleneck for new form factors.

The launch also caps a strong run for Apple's shares, which recently broke out of a base pattern and have been trading near the top of their recent range, earning the stock a place on widely followed technology leader lists. Strategists say the Duo gives Apple a genuine catalyst story heading into the holiday quarter: a visibly new device that can persuade owners of older iPhones to upgrade after several cycles of incremental changes. The combination of a novel design, a price tag that pushes average selling prices higher, and signs of demand exceeding the company's own plans has reinforced the bullish case even as the broader tech sector wrestles with questions about spending and valuation.

The Duo's success matters beyond one product cycle. Foldables have remained a niche elsewhere in the industry, and Apple's entry is the strongest test yet of whether the category can go mainstream. If the early lines and production increases are any guide, Apple may have finally given the folding phone its breakout moment, although the real verdict will come from holiday-season sales and from how well the devices hold up in everyday use.