Apple can't say when the iPhone Duo shortage will end, and Macs and iPads are next

The skim

• Apple CEO John Ternus told Reuters the iPhone Duo is supply-constrained and Apple is "not able to predict when supply and demand will be in balance." New orders show January delivery estimates.
• On Monday's earnings call, Apple warned that Mac and iPad supply will also be constrained this holiday quarter, mainly because of memory, and that memory prices will keep rising into 2027.
• Apple posted a September-quarter record of $114.5 billion in revenue, up 12%. The Duo isn't in those numbers yet because it went on sale after the quarter closed.

What happened

Apple reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Monday, the first with John Ternus as CEO. Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 26 was $114.5 billion. iPhone brought in $57.6 billion, up from $49.0 billion a year earlier, and Services hit a record $31.6 billion, according to Apple's filing.

The bigger question for shoppers was the iPhone Duo, Apple's $1,999 foldable. "Duo is constrained as of today," Ternus told Reuters, as quoted by 9to5Mac and The Verge. "The ramp is going well, and we're working hard to get it to as many customers as quickly as possible, but at this point, we're not able to predict when supply and demand will be in balance."

He also addressed reports of cracked inner screens, saying "a very small percentage" of units have been returned and that Apple is replacing them. MacRumors says Duo orders placed now show delivery estimates in January.

Why it matters

If a Duo is on your holiday list, plan on a wait. Apple isn't promising the backlog will clear, so January could slip.

The warning goes beyond the Duo. On the earnings call, COO Sabih Khan said that for the December quarter "we expect constraints on Mac and iPad, primarily driven by memory as demand has been higher than what we expected." That matters for anyone eyeing the new MacBook Pro models and iPad mini that ship this Friday.

Prices are the other worry. "What we're seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented," Ternus said. Apple raised prices on Mac and iPad at the end of June and on iPhone in September, and he said that "looking beyond the December quarter, we see the pricing for memory purchases continuing to increase." When an analyst asked whether more price increases could follow, MacRumors reports, Khan didn't answer directly. CFO Kevan Parekh said the earlier increases were made "reluctantly."

What's next

Apple expects December-quarter revenue to grow 7% to 10% and said it expects that to be the best revenue quarter in its history. The forecast that "reflects our best view of constrained supply," Parekh said. Gross margin is expected to drop to 45% to 46%, mostly because of memory costs, with some costs from the Siri AI rollout.

For buyers, the practical takeaways: order early if you want a Duo, a Mac or an iPad by the holidays. Check delivery dates before you count on a gift arriving on time, and don't wait for Black Friday to bring prices down on configurations that are already scarce.

Sources: Apple Newsroom, Apple's SEC filing, earnings call transcript (The Motley Fool), Reuters via 9to5Mac and The Verge, and MacRumors.