While it has been many years since Apple stopped providing first weekend sales numbers for new iPhones, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty today said that iPhone 13 Pro pre-orders are "off to a promising start" with "strong early demand."
Huberty based her opinion off of Apple's delivery estimates for iPhones, which she has been tracking for many years. Shortly after pre-orders began last Friday, delivery estimates for the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max began slipping into October, with Huberty having calculated the average lead time at around 27 days. She said this is the second longest lead time on the first day of pre-orders amongst all iPhone models launched over the past five years, surpassed only by the iPhone X in 2017.
As of last Friday, Huberty said the iPhone 13 mini was faring better with a lead time of 3.1 days, while the standard iPhone 13 faced no delays.
As with every iPhone launch, it is possible that lengthy delivery estimates are a function of low supply rather than high demand, but Huberty said Morgan Stanley's supply chain checks indicate minimal near-term component headwinds for iPhones and concluded that these long lead times "are at least partly a function of strong early demand."
All four iPhone 13 models will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday, September 24. Key features across the iPhone 13 lineup include a faster A15 Bionic chip, camera improvements, longer battery life, and a smaller notch. The two Pro models also feature a ProMotion display with a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz.
