iPhone 16 delivery times extend, but lower at the top By Investing.com

Delivery times for Apple’s (NASDAQ: ) iPhone 16 range have extended across several key markets, suggesting strong demand, albeit with some mixed signals for the higher-end models.

Analysts at Citi pointed out that delivery times for the base model iPhone 16 increased by about a week in the US, China, India and the UK.

The Pro model saw 3-7 day growth in most regions, while the Pro Max had more mixed results: stable in the US and UK, but growing in India and falling in China.

Despite shorter delivery times compared to the iPhone 15 Pro models, supply chain improvements are a factor this year, and features related to Apple’s new iOS 18 could further affect demand during this sales cycle.

“We believe that the availability of Apple Intelligence iOS18 features will likely influence the IP16 sales cycle and seasonality this year,” the analysts noted.

Analysts at JPMorgan reported similar trends, noting that global lead times for the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and Pro Max increased to 17, 16, 23, and 29 days, respectively.

In comparison, the same models in the previous generation had longer delivery times, especially for the Pro models.

In the US, the iPhone 16 Plus saw the most notable increase, with delivery times increasing to 13 days from just 5 at the start of the week. The delivery time of the Pro Max model has also increased from 23 to 28 days.

“Looking forward, a critical data point to watch would be if lead times temper in Wk3 and their magnitude as an indicator of demand momentum for 2H24 ahead of the broader release of Apple Intelligence,” JPMorgan analysts said.

Separately, analysts at Goldman Sachs also said that Apple’s delivery times are similar to those of the iPhone 15 at the same time last year, but demand appears to be weaker for the higher-end Pro models.

This suggests that while Apple is seeing healthy demand for entry-level models, it is not experiencing the same supercycle effect seen in previous years. The Wall Street bank expects delivery terms to settle as supply catches up with demand.