The first iPhone Duo in the world went on sale today in Sydney, Australia – and the first person who waited in line for five days to buy it is going to give it away to raise money to combat homelessness.
Jeremy Cabral was first in line to buy Apple’s first foldable iPhone – the iPhone Duo- when he arrived on Monday at the George St Apple Store in Sydney,
Cabral even tattooed the word Duo on his wrist so it could be seen when he held up the world’s first iPhone Duo sold.
“I’m actually here to raise funds for homelessness,” Cabral told Tech Guide.
“I’m doing this as a funds challenge, raising funds for We Are Mobilised: buying the world’s first iPhone Duo, actually getting two of them in both the colours, and then I’m also going to give it away.”
Carbral says it’s been a tough few days sleeping outside the store – which is the same challenge faces by homeless men and women in Australia.
“Honestly, it’s about being uncomfortable,” he said.
“OK I knew exactly what I was getting in for. I got here Monday at 5pm. Each night I probably sleep for 2.5 hours max, between like 3 and 6 in the morning.”
And Cabral says this is not the first time he’s lined up to buy an iPhone. He said he was in line in 2012 to buy the iPhone 5.
There was a line of about 150 people outside the store who were hoping to purchase the iPhone Duo.
As people arrived in the line, Apple Store staff asking them the iPhone Duo model they we’re hoping to purchase to ensure there is enough stock to meet the walk-in demand.
On the other side of the door were the customers who had pre-ordered the phone and organised pickup at the George Street store in Sydney.
Pre-orders of the iPhone Duo online were extremely popular with customers reporting expected delivery windows extending out to January 2027 even only a few minutes after the pre-orders began.
Reports suggest Apple may have had production issues which impacted stock levels to meet the initial launch demand.
But Tech Guide’s observations at the Apple Store and talking to staff gave us a feeling there was plenty of stock to go around.
incredible. I asked her on Friday. Well she’s sleeping because she’s been busy supporting. Honestly she’s been here around the clock.
You’re crazy but I have been raising funds for homelessness for 11 years so I couldn’t think of a better opportunity, really, than being here and helping them. No, because they’ve done really great things and I just want to support them. For me that’s what it’s about, man.
