Wall Street analysts can no longer look at lines outside Apple Stores to get a gauge of iPhone demand, but Evercore ISI’s Amit Daryanani still has a sense that preorders for the newest iPhone have been “solid” in their first few hours since going live.
He looked at delivery times online, and noted that “lead times got elevated rather quickly across the countries we track for the Pro and Pro Max models.”
iPhone 15 preorders: Here are the deals from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
When looking at SIM-free iPhones on Apple’s
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website, he saw U.S. delivery estimates of seven days for the iPhone 15 Pro and 35 days for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple’s most expensive model. In China, delivery estimates were for 18 days and 32 days, respectively, across those devices.
“The lower-end models (15 Plus and 15 base) have significantly shorter delivery times across all regions (~7 days), which points to a strong mix of higher priced iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models,” he continued.
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Admittedly, online wait times aren’t a perfect signal of interest in the new phones, which Apple announced earlier this week. Longer wait times could be a sign of high demand for the phones, or they could signal low supply.
This time around though, Daryanani is encouraged by “the variation in wait times,” which “more likely suggests higher demand.”
The data “continues to point to robust demand for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, although slightly weaker on Pro/Plus vs. last year, which could have a positive impact on mix somewhat offset by lower volumes,” he continued.
See also: What’s a better deal — buying an iPhone 15 or investing $800 in Apple stock?
While preorders kicked off Friday morning, the iPhone doesn’t officially become available until Sept. 22.
More from MarketWatch: How does the iPhone 15 compare to the latest Pixel and Galaxy devices?
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