Samsung's iPhone Duo jab is fair game, but Apple's real problem is the scarcity

What do you call a phone that is hard to buy, expensive to flip and, for some owners, easy to crack? Apple would like you to call it "in demand." Samsung would like you to call it a gift.

Samsung's Canadian arm launched an ad campaign this week mocking the display problems some people have had with the iPhone Duo, using images of simulated screen damage to promote the Galaxy Z Fold8. Apple says the failures affect a small number of units. Meanwhile, Gizmodo, citing Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, reports that scalpers and other buyers are using AI-powered bots to grab in-store pickup inventory within seconds.

Samsung's ad is cheap, but it's not unfair

Let's get the easy part out of the way. Comparative advertising that pokes at a rival's visible flaw is as old as advertising itself, and Samsung has a long history of needling Apple. If the screens really are cracking, and a teardown reported by IBTimes Australia reportedly points to a broken part behind some cracked $1,999 foldable screens, the rival is entitled to say so.

Our view: the ad works precisely because Apple has made the first foldable iPhone a symbol of premium, flawless design. The higher you set the pedestal, the louder the crack sounds. That is Apple's doing, not Samsung's.

There is a fair caveat, though. Apple says this affects a small number of units, and we have no way to verify the real failure rate from the documentation. A social media campaign built on simulated damage proves that Samsung has a good creative team, not that the Duo is fragile across the board. Anyone deciding on a $1,999 phone should wait for more data, not for more memes.

The scarcity is the bigger story

Here is what we think matters more. The Duo is almost impossible to get. Tom's Guide notes that online retailers and carriers are quoting delivery waits that push toward the end of the year and into 2027. According to Gizmodo's summary of Bloomberg, Apple put 80% of its available Duos on shelves launch weekend and held 20% for shipments and in-store pickup, and stores had only 50 to 250 units each. Add the memory shortage that helped push the starting price to $1,999, and you have the recipe for a resale market.

And what a market. Resale listings have reached as high as $10,000, according to the New York Post, and one Redditor described getting double the retail price on eBay. Those are asking prices and anecdotes, not typical sales, so treat them accordingly. But the pattern is clear: whoever is fastest, or has the best bot, wins. Whoever just wants to buy a phone at the price on Apple's website loses.

It looks like a deliberate rollout choice, too. Gizmodo reports Bloomberg's claim that Apple chose to drip phones out in October rather than wait for November, concentrating on the U.S. and China. That is a defensible commercial decision. It is also one that guarantees a shortage-shaped headline.

Early adopters pay twice

This is where the two stories meet. Imagine you beat the bots, stood outside a store in the early morning, and paid $1,999 or more. If your screen cracks, you want a quick repair or a replacement. PC Guide reports that replacement stock is scarce. So the scarcity that made the purchase painful may also make the fix painful. We can't say how widespread that is, but it is precisely the scenario Apple should be afraid of.

There is also an irony in the scalper market itself. SCMP reports that scalper premiums in mainland China are shrinking after mixed early reviews on durability, and Ticker says some resellers are cutting prices as demand slows. In other words, the cracked-screen talk may already be moving money. Whether those China discounts are a blip or a trend is unclear, but flippers read reputations faster than anyone.

So the people who get hurt are not only buyers who overpay. They are also resellers' customers who paid inflated prices for a phone whose reputation then wobbled. A scarce product with a durability question mark is the worst combination for anyone who bought at a premium.

What Apple should do, and what you should do

For Apple, we think the priorities are obvious, even if the fixes are slow. First, be transparent about the failure rate and the cause, rather than leaning on "a small number of units." Second, make sure repair and replacement parts exist in meaningful numbers before they are needed. Third, if the memory shortage caps production, say so plainly and make pickup harder to game. Apple reportedly enforces a two-per-customer limit in the U.S., but a cap does little against bots that can monitor pickup slots.

Samsung can enjoy its moment. But foldables have a history of early durability complaints, and a Galaxy Z Fold8 ad is a poor shield for the whole category.

Our verdict for readers: do not pay a scalper. Not at double retail, and certainly not at the numbers floating around. If you want a Duo, order through Apple or your carrier and be patient, because the resale premium appears to be shrinking in at least one major market. If you cannot wait, the iPhone 18 Pro Max shows delivery waits of two to three weeks, according to Tom's Guide, and in our view it is the safer purchase. The Duo is arguably Apple's most interesting iPhone in years. It does not deserve to be a lottery ticket.