Apple Will Let You Reserve a Folding iPhone Before Telling You the Price

Apple opened a window to save the exact configuration of the iPhone Duo, colour, storage and carrier, and to set up a payment method, before the price has been announced.

I would not. Not out of principle, out of arithmetic: a decision made without the number is not a decision, it is a queue position.

There is a defence for it. The reservation is not a purchase, you can walk away on Friday, and all it buys is minutes saved when the store opens. But the reason companies build these windows is that a person who has already picked a colour, chosen storage and entered a card is further along than one who has not, and that distance does work on you when the price appears. If the number were going to look good, they would lead with it.

The bigger reason to sit this one out is that it is a first generation of a new format for this company. I do not buy anything on day one, which I have said here before about phones and still believe after watching it play out: the first weeks of any launch are a beta you pay full price to join. A folding screen is a hinge, a crease and a set of failure modes with no history behind it from this manufacturer.

So, do I buy it? No, and I would wait for the second generation even if the price turns out to be friendly. If you want it anyway, at least wait for the price before reserving anything. Deciding in that order costs you a few minutes of queue and saves you from finding out later what you agreed to.