Analysts at J.P. Morgan said that week eight of their product availability tracker for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 17 series showed that average lead times have moderated, but still elevated lead times imply that supply is yet to catch up with the high demand.
Analysts led by Samik Chatterjee said that in week eight, lead times across the iPhone 17 series moderated by three days, largely in-line with a decline of three days seen from week seven to week 8 in the prior year; and average lead times across the iPhone 17 series tracked to about 10 days, relative to around five days in week eight of the prior year.
“The elevated lead times relative to the prior year signify that the supply ramp is yet to catch up to the higher level of demand being seen in the iPhone 17 cycle; higher than expected demand drove the robust outlook for double-digit iPhone revenue growth in F1Q26 (Dec-end). It will be interesting to watch if Apple is able to reach demand and supply parity by year-end, otherwise if elevated lead times were to be sustained, it would point to the likelihood of a stronger-than-expected F2Q26 (March-end) iPhone revenue outlook as well,” said Chatterjee and his team.
Globally, lead times moderated by nearly a week for Base and Pro Max models and slightly for iPhone Air as well, while expanding slightly for Pro, the analysts added.
The analysts noted that in the U.S., lead times moderated for Base and Pro Max models, but remained stable for Air, and expanded slightly for Pro.
In China, lead times moderated for Base, Air, and Pro Max models while expanding slightly for the iPhone 17 Pro, the analysts added.