Apple fans queue around the world as iPhone Duo goes on sale — but the £1,999 foldable is already sold out online until January

Paul, a 58-year-old tech director whose office is directly opposite, was the first customer through the Covent Garden doors at 8am, saying the phone was 'not as heavy as everyone was saying'. Pre-orders were capped at two handsets per customer. The earliest delivery slot is now 22 January. The top-tier model carries a price tag of up to £3,199, posing an early challenge for new Apple chief John Ternus.

Apple described customer demand as 'nothing short of extraordinary'.

Blogger John Gruber labelled the iPhone Duo 'an extraordinarily polished prototype' rather than a finished product.

A buyer in Noida, India, picked up three pre-ordered units for around Rs 9 lakh.