Apple's Foldable iPhone Duo Launch Fails to Spark Rally, Stock Price Takes a Hit

Apple's highly anticipated iPhone Duo, its first foldable smartphone, was unveiled at the company's fall launch event on September 9. The device boasts a horizontal inward-folding design with a 5.4-inch outer screen and approximately 7.6-inch inner screen when unfolded.

The iPhone Duo has been priced in China starting from 15,999 yuan for the base model with 256GB storage, making it the most expensive iPhone model currently available. Pre-orders began on October 16, and official sales started on October 23.

However, despite the excitement surrounding the new product, Apple's stock price took a hit on the day of the launch event, plummeting nearly 2% at one point during intraday trading with its market cap evaporating by approximately $90 billion. Analysts attributed this decline to 'good news fully priced in', meaning that investors had already factored in the expected success of the new product.

Counterpoint Research predicts that Apple's foldable iPhone will account for 25% of the global foldable smartphone market share in 2026, with the maximum shipment volume expected to be 6 million units. The company aims to stimulate demand with this innovative design and boost revenue accordingly.