US carriers launched iPhone Duo pre-orders with discounts of up to $1,200 off. With a retail price of $1,999.99, that only covers about half the phone’s price – substantially less than other foldable launches this year. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 launched this summer for free at multiple carriers. Counterpoint’s launch-week tracking shows how much less carriers are discounting Apple’s first foldable, and what that says about who funds carrier subsidies.
iPhone Duo Promotions Compared with Other Foldables (% off Retail Price)
Source: Counterpoint USA Weekly Smartphone Promotions Tracker & Index
- Even with the best deal, Duo buyers pay at least $800, and most top offers require a trade-in, a premium plan, along with a 36-month commitment.
- Verizon gave every other foldable this year a bigger launch discount than the iPhone Duo.
- Carrier “free” launch offers went to Samsung and Motorola, which points to OEM co-funding, not retail price, as the driver of the largest subsidies.
The full brief includes Promotion Index Scores and breaks down the discount terms for all five major US carriers.
Download the full brief: iPhone Duo Pre-Order Discounts from US Carriers Are Lower Than Expected
Learn more about the US smartphone landscape
The weekly US Smartphone Promotions Tracker and Index monitors pricing and discount activity in the smartphone promotional landscape, covering major postpaid and prepaid carriers. It tracks every smartphone available at each carrier and identifies the key characteristics of each promotion. These characteristics are represented in the Promotion Index Score, a metric that quantifies the terms of each promotion.
Counterpoint Research's US Smartphone Channel Share Tracker analyzes monthly smartphone sell-through in the US by model, OEM, sales channel, and price band. It also looks at OEM performance and carrier promotions. The report covers 14 carrier, retail, and direct channels: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Spectrum, Xfinity, Cricket, Metro by T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, Verizon Prepaid, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Amazon, and OEM online stores.