Apple's iPhone Duo release saw its stock price drop instead of rising, with its market value once evaporating by about 90 billion US dollars.

On September 9 local time, Apple officially unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, at its fall launch event. It is claimed to be the biggest experience innovation since the birth of the iPhone.

However, on the day of the launch event, Apple's stock price trended downward amid fluctuations, falling nearly 2% at one point during intraday trading with its market cap evaporating by approximately 90 billion USD; it closed slightly down 0.28% at 315.34 USD per share, for a total market capitalization of 4.6 trillion USD.

Some analysts believe that the core reason for Apple's stock price drop after the launch event is "good news fully priced in". The market had already hyped up expectations in advance before the launch. After the new product was officially released, the funds that bet on it earlier took the opportunity to sell for cash, leading to a short-term pullback in the stock price. But this does not necessarily mean the long-term failure of the product, and subsequent sales data will be the key.

Ahead of its official release, Apple's first foldable iPhone has drawn tremendous attention. In terms of appearance, the iPhone Duo adopts a horizontal inward-folding design, which is close to the size of a passport when closed. It has a 5.4-inch outer screen and an approximately 7.6-inch inner screen when unfolded, making it the largest iPhone display ever. The body is 5.2mm thick when unfolded, the thinnest iPhone to date, and 11.3mm thick when folded, weighing 254 grams — slightly heavier than the 249-gram iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Crease optimization is the core highlight of the iPhone Duo's R&D this time. Its hinge integrates more than 100 precision micro parts to provide stable support for the screen. Apple states that the Duo's inner screen consists of ten ultra-thin layers, uses a nano-textured surface to reduce glare, and the optically transparent adhesive material between layers can slide slightly when folded to reduce stress and creases.

In terms of pricing, the starting price of the Chinese mainland version of the iPhone Duo is 15,999 yuan, with four storage variants: 256GB for 15,999 yuan, 512GB for 17,999 yuan, 1TB for 21,499 yuan, and 2TB for 26,499 yuan, making it the highest-priced model in the current iPhone product line. The new device is already listed on Apple China's official website, with pre-orders opening at 8 p.m. on October 16, and official sales starting on October 23.

Source: Apple China

Pre-order proxy services for the first batch of Apple 18 series and iPhone Duo have emerged in the second-hand trading market, with prices ranging from 100 yuan to 588 yuan. A reporter from Jiemian News previously consulted a purchasing agent about what materials are needed for the proxy purchase under the identity of a consumer, and the agent said that an ID is needed to place the order, and payment is made via email after the reservation is confirmed. "If you are worried, register a new ID, or buy one for just a few yuan." Registering a new ID requires providing a mobile phone number, the last four digits of the ID number, payment method, pickup city and other information. Some experts remind that such private transactions lack platform guarantees, and consumers are vulnerable to losing both money and goods, so they should choose official and formal channels.

The market currently has concerns about the production capacity of the iPhone Duo. Previous reports stated that Apple plans to produce 8 million to 10 million foldable iPhone Duo units within this year, and hopes to stimulate market demand with this model of brand-new exterior design, so as to boost revenue. According to this planning target, tens of thousands of foldable iPhones need to be produced every day under normal circumstances. However, reports indicate that due to Apple's extremely strict quality control standards, the initial daily production volume of the first Apple foldable iPhone is only "several hundred units".

Liz Lee, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, also said that the supply of Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to be limited during the initial production capacity ramp-up phase, with the maximum shipment volume in 2026 expected to be 6 million units. Even with a relatively short sales window, Apple is expected to account for 25% of the global foldable smartphone market share in 2026, ranking second only to Samsung.

It has been eight years since foldable smartphones were commercially launched. 2019 is widely recognized by the industry as the "first year of foldable screens", with both Samsung and Huawei entering the market. Samsung launched the Galaxy Fold, which adopts an inward-folding solution with a 7.3-inch screen; Huawei launched the Mate X, with an outward-folding design and an 8-inch large screen, and it is also equipped with Kirin 980 and Balong 5000, making it the first 5G foldable smartphone.

In recent years, the shipment volume of foldable smartphones has declined after experiencing rapid growth. Data from market research firm Omdia shows that the global shipment of foldable smartphones reached 18.2 million units in 2025, with the year-on-year growth rate slowing down to 6%, hitting the lowest growth rate in recent years; the shipment volume in the first half of 2026 was 5.1 million units, down 21.6% year on year.

However, an inflection point is emerging. Omdia predicts that the global shipment of foldable smartphones will exceed 22 million units in 2026, with the year-on-year growth rate rebounding to over 22%; by 2028, the global shipment volume will reach 36 million units, doubling compared to 2025.

On September 7, according to the latest global foldable smartphone market forecast released by Counterpoint Research, the cumulative global shipment of foldable smartphones will exceed 100 million units by the end of 2026.

Counterpoint Research stated that with Apple's official entry into the market, coupled with the growing demand for large foldable form factor products from Samsung and Huawei, the market demand for foldable smartphones is expected to further increase, driving the global shipment of foldable smartphones to grow by 37% year on year in 2027. As the market growth rate increases, the foldable smartphone market is expected to reach the next milestone of 100 million cumulative shipments within the next three years.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Jiemian News", author: Hou Ruining, published with authorization from 36Kr.