Plot twist: Best Buy had my iPhone Duo the very next day

Well, that was fast. Almost exactly 24 hours after being told by a Best Buy employee that my launch day preorder could be available anytime between now and February, I have an iPhone Duo. What a rollercoaster of emotions.

Around noon yesterday I received a text from someone at my local Best Buy store telling me that there was an issue with the pre-activation process that needed to be fixed before I could pick up my phone. I thought the text was a phishing attempt, but it included my order number, which wasn’t public knowledge, giving the conversation some credibility. After asking a couple of questions, including whether or not my phone was at the store, I followed his instructions to help with the pre-activation. Then, he went silent.

A couple of hours later, I noticed I had an email in my spam folder from Best Buy Mobile letting me know there was an issue with pre-activation, along with instructions to call an 866 number. I was super skeptical at this point. A random text message from a supposed employee, a spam email with an unknown phone number to call — none of it added up.

So I went to Best Buy’s site, started a chat with support and asked them to confirm the issue and phone number. Oddly enough, when you search the phone number the only results are Reddit posts from customers also questioning whether or not it’s legit. Some said yes, others didn’t trust it.

Customer support confirmed the number was legit and told me I had to call it. So, I did. The rep on the phone explained that due to security protections enabled on my account, Best Buy and my carrier couldn’t communicate to finish the activation.⁠

After giving her some info and permission to contact my carrier, we hung up. She promised to call back as soon as it was fixed, after which I’d get an alert my phone was ready for pickup. An hour later, she called, said all was good and I could go get my phone. A few seconds after hanging up, sure enough, I got a text and email letting me know my phone was ready.

The pickup at the store was uneventful. They scanned my order confirmation, looked at my ID, disappeared in the back for 15 seconds and then walked out and handed me my iPhone Duo. No confetti cannons, no cheering employees.

iPhone Duo first impressions

Wow. What an impressive piece of kit. Here are some quick initial thoughts on the Duo after about 12 hours:

• It really is an iPhone that folds! I never thought we’d see the day.
• The weight hasn’t been something I’ve even noticed.
• The form factor feels just as good as the Z Fold 8 from a hardware perspective.
• My biggest personal hurdle is that I have to unlearn habits I picked up from Android foldables. I keep expecting buttons and gestures to be in places where they aren’t, because that’s how it’s worked on Android. It’s going to take some time.
• The software is its weakest selling point. The sidebar on the front screen needs a total revamp. It takes up way too much space with little benefit.
• I haven’t taken many photos with it yet, but what I have snapped looks fine. I know that won’t be the case once I really start using it, but I’m hopeful it’s passable.
• The nanomatte finish on the inner display looks great. I don’t mind the muted colors.

That’s the gist for now. I’ll have a full review at some point in the near future. I want to take my time on this one — it’s been a while since Apple released an iPhone that made the iPhone exciting again.