As one of the most expensive mainstream smartphones ever sold, the Duo had raised questions about just how much demand there would be. Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

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The phone went on sale Friday, bringing back the once-familiar sight of people lining up overnight to get their hands on it first. Marking the company’s most radical reinvention in the iPhone’s nearly two-decade history, the Duo is a major bet that Apple can establish itself in a category that’s remained a niche so far.

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Apple’s latest gadget packed stores from New York to Beijing and Singapore. The early turnout featured customers collecting their preorders, some trying their luck to secure limited inventory for walk-in purchases, and resellers hoping to flip the devices for a higher price.

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In Singapore, a few hundred people stood in line early Friday, including a family of seven from Myanmar who’d camped out overnight.

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“This is the first true innovation Apple have had in years,” said Peter Ingram, a chief technology officer visiting from London, who plans to buy it upon his return to the United Kingdom. “It is expensive. But I tried it out, played with it in the store. It’s incredible how it’s got no crease.”

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In the United States, Apple stores received roughly 50 to 200-plus Duo units per location, and they went fast. A store in Los Angeles had no units left for people who arrived after around 6:30 a.m. The 256-gigabyte star white model, priced at US$1,999, was popular with shoppers.

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Large crowds on launch day have mostly dissipated in recent years after Apple, retailers and wireless carriers began maintaining enough inventory to fulfill most orders through home delivery or appointment-based store pickups. But the company’s first foldable device arrived in much more limited supply.

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Consumers placing new orders for the Duo on Apple’s website are now being offered delivery at the end of January, though some have seen their shipping estimates move up to as soon as November or December. The delays mark some of the lengthiest for a new Apple product in the company’s modern era.

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Shoppers at the Domain Northside Apple Store in Austin were greeted by new chief executive John Ternus, CBS reported. At the Fifth Avenue location in New York, the line was already stretching multiple blocks around 5 a.m., three hours before doors opened to iPhone Duo customers. The launch there was marked by Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, and Vanessa Trigub, vice president of retail stores.

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At the Apple Store in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, about 40 miles outside Philadelphia, the 256- and 512-gigabyte configurations sold out within the first half hour, leaving the pricier one and two terabyte models.

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Victor Osorio, a shopper at that location, said even though foldables aren’t new, “Apple always does something different and adds extra spice to it. I’m not nervous about the form factor but I am about the hinge. I don’t want it to get in the way but it looks OK so far.” Osorio arrived early with his partner, Victoria, who also purchased the Duo and said she was intrigued by the device’s multitasking capabilities.