Apple's most expensive iPhone sells out within 5 minutes of preorders opening in Vietnam

Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, sold out of its initial batch for Oct. 23 delivery in Vietnam within five minutes, with later orders facing delivery in late November.

Preorders opened at 7 p.m. on Oct. 16, with Vietnam among the first markets worldwide to offer the device.

Within two to three minutes, many customers were unable to access Apple's online store. Websites of major retailers, including TopZone, CellphoneS and FPT Shop, also experienced access difficulties.

By 7:05 p.m., all versions of the Duo had sold out for delivery on Oct. 23, its official release date, through Apple's online store.

Customers ordering the Star White model, with storage options ranging from 256 GB to 1 TB, were given estimated delivery dates in late November. Only the 1 TB and 2 TB Night Sky versions remained available for delivery as early as Oct. 27.

Five minutes later, estimated delivery dates for all configurations had been pushed back to late November at the earliest.

Major retailers, including CellphoneS and FPT Shop, also stopped accepting preorders after selling out their initial allocations, allowing customers only to register for future availability updates. A TopZone spokesperson said the retailer had exhausted its entire preorder allocation within just one minute.

Customers ordering through authorized retailers had to pay a refundable VND30 million (US$1,160) deposit, 30 times the usual amount for previous iPhones. Those ordering directly from Apple's online store had to pay the full purchase price upfront.

Apple unveiled the Duo, its most expensive smartphone, alongside the 18 Pro series on Sept. 9, but the Pro models went on sale on Sept. 18. In Vietnam, it starts at VND64.99 million for the 256 GB version and reaches VND103.99 million for the 2 TB model, putting its highest-end configuration in the price range of premium computers. It comes in two colors, Star White and Night Sky.