Apple shrugged off widely-reported delays to shipments of iPhone Duo models by delivering the first units to eager customers worldwide.

Pictures from various of the vendor’s retail locations showed a clamour for its first foldable model, which hit stores on time based on the release schedule Apple gave when it unveiled the device in September.

Apple stated it is offering a range of trade-in and leasing options on the devices, which have a starting price of $1,999 for versions with 256GB of storage.

The vendor may be particularly pleased with the turnout at a store in Shanghai, China, given the nation is one of its biggest markets.

Bloomberg journalist Vlad Savov wrote the iPhone Duo could ignite a so-far muted foldable smartphone market, though also cautioned the sector may remain niche if Apple fails to shift enough of the devices.

Reports last week pointed to significantly longer waiting times for customers ordering the devices online compared with previous Apple smartphones, with shipments tipped to take up to three months instead of the roughly six weeks of past devices.

Apple highlighted there are “exceptional” deals to be had purchasing iPhone Duo models through mobile operator channels.

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