Purchase limits and pre-orders

Apple has capped purchases of the iPhone Duo, its foldable phone, at two units per customer. Pre-orders opened on Friday, 16 October, and Apple's online store now shows delivery in January 2027. The limit has been applied in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Portugal, and Notícias ao Minuto confirmed it on the Portuguese store, where a third unit could not be added to the basket. Checkout only proceeded after the quantity was reduced to two. Resellers on eBay are reportedly asking between 7,000 and 10,000 euros, while Apple's Portuguese store lists the base model at 2,399 euros. The US starting price is $1,999, and early orders sold out within minutes.

US suppliers and the American Manufacturing Program

On Tuesday, 20 October, Apple announced new and expanded partnerships with two US companies. Perryman, a family-owned titanium producer in Houston, Pennsylvania, will receive up to $100 million over three years to supply grade 5 titanium for the iPhone Duo casing, made from mostly recycled metal with at least 80% recycled content. Qnity Electronics, based in Delaware, will produce advanced films for the variable aperture camera system in the iPhone 18 Pro. Apple says nearly 100 components in the two phones come from US companies in more than a dozen states, and it did not say how many jobs the Perryman deal will create. Both deals sit under the American Manufacturing Program, launched in August 2025 as part of a $600 billion US manufacturing and research commitment through 2029. Apple's operations chief Sabih Khan framed the announcement in these words:

“American ingenuity is vital to all our products, from the titanium crafted for iPhone Duo to breakthrough camera innovations in iPhone 18 Pro.”

Other named suppliers include Broadcom, which is expanding its Fort Collins, Colorado, facility under a $1.5 billion investment announced in July, and Corning, which will make all cover glass for iPhone and Apple Watch sold worldwide by the end of 2026 at its Harrodsburg, Kentucky, plant. TSMC's Arizona factory is due to make more than 100 million chips for Apple in 2026. Apple CEO John Ternus shared the US manufacturing announcement in a post on X.

Repair parts for iPhone 18 Pro and new Macs

Apple has added replacement parts and tools for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to its Self Service Repair store, which launched in 2022. The list covers back glass, batteries, cameras, displays, logic boards, Taptic Engines and speakers, among other components. The replacement camera costs $249, the same as last year's models even though the iPhone 18 Pro now has a variable-aperture system, and a $59.76 credit for returning the original camera brings the effective cost down to $189.24. For the Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips, parts cover Thunderbolt and USB-C ports, fans, speakers, SSD modules, logic boards and power supplies. The Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chips has a shorter list that includes fans, speakers, logic boards, batteries and power supplies. The store serves customers in the US, Canada and Europe, who can follow Apple's repair manuals.

Shipping dates

Shipping estimates have shifted in both directions since pre-orders opened. Japanese users on X reported that their initial November or December estimates had moved forward to 23 October, the official launch date. One user saw an order move from 2 to 9 December up to 17 to 24 November, while another saw a January date move to 24 November. Other buyers saw no change, and one user's 30 November estimate slipped to 7 December. Apple's online store still showed 22 January when checked, while AT&T showed 3 December, Verizon 4 December and T-Mobile 29 December to 6 January. In Portugal, the first pre-order customers are due to receive the phone on Friday, 23 October.