SAN FRANCISCO — Apple's first folding phone, the iPhone Duo, went on sale around the world Friday. It costs about $2,000, and its debut drew less fanfare than previous iPhone launches.

From Singapore and Shanghai to London and San Francisco, demand was strong. But Apple rationed sales, so there were fewer of the round-the-block lines and overnight camp-outs that once marked new iPhone days.

Rivals such as Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies have sold premium foldable phones for years. The Duo is a test of whether Apple can remake the small foldable market the way the original iPhone transformed smartphones.

Demand outstrips supply

Apple called demand for the device "nothing short of extraordinary."

Within minutes of preorders opening a week before launch, estimated delivery dates slipped to late January. Apple capped preorders at two phones per customer and restricted walk-in sales. In China, France, Hong Kong, India and Japan, only customers who had already ordered online could buy the phone in stores.

The limits changed the scene outside stores. Instead of crowds lining up for days, many shoppers arrived to pick up phones they had reserved.

In Sydney, the first Apple store to sell the device, engineer Simon Krishnan, 48, said the price gave him pause.

"This is a bit of a luxury item for me, because it's so expensive, but I just think, you know what? Life's too short," he........

© International Business Times