Shoppers who walk past Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York this week will not yet see the full display. Large rectangular structures wrapped in black cloth and protective sheeting have appeared around its glass cube entrance, two days before the iPhone Duo goes on sale.
9to5Mac reported Wednesday that preparations are underway at the flagship store. The outlines point to giant versions of Apple’s first foldable phone, but Apple has not publicly described the installations, so the identification is an inference from the shapes and the timing.
The sighting fits Apple’s habit of dressing flagship stores for major launches. Hitechreports, summarizing the same sighting, said the Fifth Avenue cube was lit in burgundy, silver and blue last month for the iPhone 18 Pro launch. That outlet’s description has not been independently confirmed by The Eastern Herald.
Apple said in its product announcement that the iPhone Duo is its first foldable iPhone. It goes on sale Friday, October 23, at a U.S. starting price of $1,999, as Apple’s iPhone Duo preorder opened with a camera trade-off. Pre-order demand then pushed delivery estimates into 2027, according to earlier Eastern Herald reporting.
Walk-in buyers should treat the decorations as launch spectacle, not a promise of supply. Apple said Wednesday, in a statement reported by Reuters, that its stores will have limited numbers available for walk-in customers. It listed the United States among the countries with walk-in stock, and said markets including mainland China, France and Japan will offer only pickup for online orders.
Demonstration stock is a separate matter. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported earlier this month, as relayed by MacRumors, that Fifth Avenue was expected to receive more than 150 units for customers to try. That figure does not show how many phones will be sold at the store, and Apple has not confirmed it.
Queues are also forming unevenly. Reporter Sam Kohl posted on X that people had been waiting in line for the iPhone Duo since Monday, though his post does not establish how many people are queuing at Fifth Avenue.
People hoping to buy without a reservation should read The Eastern Herald’s launch-stock report before planning a queue. The installations show how heavily Apple intends to promote the device, but the confirmed supply picture remains limited.
