The iPhone 16 series has been available for almost five weeks now, so the demand picture for the devices is becoming clearer. Previous reports showed a slight decline in orders compared to the previous generation. However, the iPhone 16 Pro Max remains in fairly strong demand, being the most popular model by far.
The evolution of delivery times for a particular device is usually a good indicator of demand from buyers. For popular products, it is normal to see longer delivery times in the first few weeks and then shorter ones. The level of the drop in the delivery period reflects how popular the device remains with consumers.
iPhone 16 Pro Max demand shows it is the most popular model on the lineup by far
Wall Street firm J.P. Morgan’s Apple Product Availability Tracker reveals that delivery times for the vanilla iPhone 16 dropped from 4 days in the fourth week to 3 days in the fifth week. The drop is even more pronounced for the iPhone 16 Plus, which saw delivery times drop from 6 days in the fourth week to just 3 days in the fifth week. Apple is reportedly aware of the declining popularity of its Plus mobile devices and plans to replace them next year with the slimmer iPhone 17 Air.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is the most popular among buyers in the lineup. During the fifth week of availability, the device maintains the same 29-day delivery time it had in the fourth week. This reflects a trend of strong demand that does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The sales performance of the most premium model is even more striking when compared to the vanilla iPhone 6, which saw delivery times drop from 17 days in the first week to just three days now.
The iPhone 16 Pro is also a popular model, although not at the level of the Pro Max. Delivery times for the device were 22 days for the fourth week of availability. By the fifth week, delivery times dropped slightly to 21 days. This is still well above the vanilla and Plus variants.
iPhone 15 series featured longer delivery times
Comparing the delivery times for the iPhone 16 series to the iPhone 15 series can help put things into perspective. During its fifth week of availability, the vanilla iPhone 15 saw delivery times of 3 days. This matches the demand for the new model. However, the iPhone 15 Plus was far outperforming the iPhone 16 Plus, with delivery times of 15 days during its fifth week.
On the other hand, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max were seeing even longer delivery times than the next-gen models. This is in line with reports of a slight drop in popularity for the latest iPhone 16 series. For their fifth week of availability, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max delivery times were 23 days and 33 days, respectively.
iPhone 16 Pro Max is hard to find in physical retailers
The availability of the iPhone 16 series in US physical stores matches the observations. Given the recent reports of porch pirates stealing iPhone 16 models, some consumers are opting to purchase them in person. In physical stores, it is usually difficult to find the iPhone 16 Pro Max, while other models (including the Pro) are usually available for immediate purchase.
