JPMorgan: iPhone 17 Series Demand Expected to Surpass 16 Series

Last week, Apple unveiled the iPhone 17 series with great fanfare, particularly introducing the “thinnest iPhone ever”—the iPhone 17 Air—aiming to compete with similar products from rivals like Samsung.

Despite a lack of AI-driven innovations causing the company’s stock to decline post-launch, JPMorgan remains optimistic, forecasting that the new iPhone 17 series could see stronger market demand than last year’s iPhone 16 series.  

iPhone 17 Outperforms Last Year in First Week  

In its latest report, JPMorgan analysts noted that based on the first week’s performance, the recently launched iPhone 17 series appears to have stronger market demand than the 16 series, a judgment primarily drawn from delivery times in key markets.  

JPMorgan indicated that in the first week post-launch, the delivery periods for the iPhone 17 series in markets like the US, China, Germany, and the UK were “slightly longer” than those for the 16 series. Notably, demand for the base iPhone 17 and the newly introduced ultra-thin Air model significantly outstrips that of the 16 series’ base and Plus models.  

JPMorgan pointed out that while early trends suggest slightly weaker demand for the Pro version of the iPhone 17 compared to the base model, this does not necessarily indicate that Pro demand will fall below last year’s levels.

However, the persistence of this trend could suggest that demand growth for the base iPhone 17 will far exceed market expectations.  

Significantly Longer Delivery Periods  

The iPhone delivery period refers to the wait time from when a customer orders a new iPhone to when they receive it, with longer waits indicating stronger demand.  

Currently, in the US—Apple’s largest market, where iPhone shipments account for about one-third of total volume—the delivery periods for the base iPhone 17 and Air models are 4 days and 7 days, respectively. For the Pro and Pro Max models, the periods are 4 days and 21 days, respectively.  

In contrast, last year, the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus models had zero-day delivery periods in their first week, meaning immediate availability upon purchase. The 16 Pro and Pro Max models had delivery periods of 6 days and 20 days, respectively.  $AAPL