Overview
- Preorders for the iPhone Duo went live in more than 70 countries and many markets quickly showed long estimated delivery windows reaching into late January.
- Bloomberg's Mark Gurman publicly criticized the move and said Apple launched preorders despite being aware of severe supply constraints, calling it a major mistake.
- Apple reportedly scrapped an initial plan to limit the launch to the U.S. and China and instead opened orders simultaneously across a wide set of markets.
- Observers note that Apple often posts conservative estimated delivery dates and actual shipments can arrive earlier than the posted windows.
- The choice highlights a tradeoff between meeting internal fiscal-timing goals and satisfying early customers, a decision that could harm buyer goodwill and draw further scrutiny.