Apple’s iPhone Duo launch in China attracts scalpers to Beijing

The iPhone Duo has a sky-high price tag, but initial interest in AppleChina’s first foldable phone looks solid.

On the day of the global launch, Friday, resellers like Alex Wang stood outside the flagship store in Beijing’s popular Sanlitun shopping district, offering to pay customers an extra 3,000 Chinese yuan. ($448) to purchase their newly purchased phones on the spot.

“I think the Duo can be sold at a higher price for half a month,” he told CNBC while looking at the queues of Duo customers who had pre-reserved their phones. “The main reason is lack of supply.”

Although foldable products remain a niche product globally, the Chinese market is the largest, according to Counterpoint Research.

Apple fan Mary Tong, who was the first in a queue of about 100 people at the Sanlitun store, showed up at 6 a.m. to collect her foldable device.

“Apple has been a laggard,” she said. “I think many Chinese people prefer foldable phones.”

Huawei is promoting its own AI assistant XiaoYi to boost the Chinese smartphone maker’s competitiveness against Apple and other local rivals. Huawei, which already offers a wide range of foldable phones, launched a new triple called the Mate XT2, priced around $3,000, on September 7, two days before Apple announced the Duo.

China’s Xiaomi unveiled its own expensive foldable, the 18 Fold, around the same time.

Even before regular opening hours at the Beijing Apple Store, customers without reservations showed up to try their luck and get their hands on the new phone. Apple had said the Duo would not be available for walk-in purchase on launch day in mainland China and would be “limited” in other countries. Each online purchase was limited to two phones.

Zhang Zheng said he tried to order one from the site but was put off by the delivery time, which stretched to January 2027. He said he still wanted to buy one.

“I think it will be useful for work and it’s cool to look at,” he said.

While there was buzz around the device itself, expectations for Apple Intelligence were negligible. The company said a version of the AI ​​system is expected to be beta tested this month for the mainland China market and will include features such as live translation, photo cleaning and writing tools.

On October 14, Beijing approved Alibaba AI models for use in Duo and other Apple devices as part of the US tech giant’s impending AI rollout in the country. Apple received Chinese regulatory approval over the summer.

Chinese state media quoted former CEO Tim Cook during a recent trip to China as saying that the upgraded version of Apple’s Siri AI would not yet be available in the country.

Duo customer John Zhao said he tried Apple Intelligence while working overseas, and it was “enjoyable but not beyond imagination.” He expects the Chinese version to be less exciting.