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Still waiting on your new iPhone 15? Delivery times are much longer this year
- iPhone 15 pre-order wait times are way longer than last year.
- In the US, people ordering the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro Max have to wait longer than those ordering the Plus and Pro models.
- Wait times in China are 4X higher than the iPhone 14 series.
It looks like two of Apple’s four new iPhones are more coveted than ever this year. According to Counterpoint Research, the base iPhone 15 and the top-of-the-line iPhone 15 Pro Max have the longest pre-order delivery wait times right now. This writer can also attest to the fact, with a promised October delivery date for her own Pro iPhone.
Counterpoint says high demand and initial supply constraints are the likely factors behind the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s delivery times reaching record durations during the pre-order week. The standard iPhone 15 is also seeing long wait times across key markets.
Data shows that the pre-order waiting period for the new iPhones is significantly higher than that of the iPhone 14 models. In the US, for instance, buyers of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro Max are having to wait for four to nine days longer, respectively, compared to last year. iPhone 15 Plus and Pro buyers will receive their devices up to two weeks faster than those who pre-ordered the base and top-end models.
Analysts at Counterpoint attribute the strong demand for the new iPhones to a number of things, including features like the Dynamic Island trickling down to the non-Pro iPhones, camera upgrades on the Pro Max, and more. Perhaps it’s also USB-C and the new Action Button that are wooing buyers.
If you thought pre-order wait times for the iPhone 15 series were terrible in the US, China’s got it worse. Data shows that wait times in the country were 4X more than last year on launch day.
“We were expecting them to come in a lot lower — maybe on par with last year – based on all the discounting we saw on the 14 series during H1, but it could just be a sign Apple’s still ramping up supply as we move into the busiest quarter,” says Archie Zhang, China Research Analyst at Counterpoint.
It looks like pre-ordering the new iPhones wasn’t the best idea after all. That said, if you are also someone waiting on your new iPhone, Counterpoint suggests you might not face further delivery delays.”
“Looking at wait times this weekend as the product starts selling in stores, it looks like availability is moving in the right direction and normalizing,” says Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director for North America.