Apple’s iPhone 16 availability tracker shows improving demand: J.P. Morgan; iOS 18.1 to roll out next week

J.P. Morgan noted that Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 16 average lead times are now in line with iPhone 15, reaffirming improvement in demand.

The firm has an Overweight rating on Apple’s stock.

In week 6, delivery lead times for Pro models started to moderate across all geographies, after being stable for about four weeks. Meanwhile, lead times for Base models increased modestly, said a team of analysts led by Samik Chatterjee.

In addition, while average lead times for the iPhone 16 models have been tracking below iPhone 15 until week 5, now in week 6 the lead times are back to tracking in line with iPhone 15, providing more reassurance around recovery in demand momentum following the initial weeks post-launch, according to the analysts.

In the U.S., the delivery lead times moderated slightly for base models, but materially for the Pro models. Lead times for the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus tracked to three days each (versus 4 days each in week 5), while Pro and Pro Max lead times tracked to 15 and 21 days, respectively, compared to 21 and 28 days, respectively, in week 5, the analysts added.

In China, delivery lead times expanded for base models, but moderated significantly for Pro models.

Lead times for the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus tracked to 4 days each, versus 1 day each in week 5. Pro and Pro Max lead times tracked to 14 and 19 days, respectively, compared to 20 and 26 days, respectively, in week 5, said Chatterjee and his team.

Delivery lead times remained largely stable for base models, but were moderate for Pro series in Europe, the analysts noted.

AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid features and iOS 18.1

Apple is set to roll out its new hearing health features for the AirPods Pro 2, alongside the release of iOS 18.1 with some Apple Intelligence features next week, The Verge reported.

In September, Apple showcased features for the AirPods Pro 2, which included clinical-grade hearing aid functionality, a hearing test, and more robust hearing protection.

With iOS 18.1 and the soon-to-be-launched AirPods firmware update, the AirPods Pro 2 will provide hearing protection at all times across noise cancellation, transparency, and adaptive audio modes, the report noted.

The iOS 18.1 would include the company’s first installment of Apple Intelligence features, such as Writing Tools, notification summaries, and Clean Up in the Photos app. There are also several non-Apple Intelligence features included in the update, according to a report by 9to5Mac.

The software update is expected to be made public on Oct. 28, the report noted.