iPhone 15 Pro Max Delivery Shifted to November for Select Countries: Here's Why

The long wait period also reflected the lower initial supply of Pro Max as Apple faced hurdles in securing supplies, analysts suggest.

By Reuters | Updated: 16 September 2023 18:28 IST

iPhone 15 Pro Max Delivery Shifted to November for Select Countries: Here's Why

The high-end iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models were sold out on the Apple store in China

Highlights

In top market US, buyers will have to wait for six to seven weeks
The wait is slightly shorter for iPhone 15 Pro in China
Huawei launched the smartphone with an advanced chip last month

Buyers of Apple's new iPhone 15 Pro Max in some countries including China, Japan and the United States may have to wait until November to get the smartphone, an early sign of strong demand for the company as it started taking pre-orders on Friday.

The indications are likely to ease some worries about demand for Apple's flagship device after a slump in the global smartphone market sapped iPhone sales in the June quarter.

The four-to-five week wait period for the Pro Max in China could also allay fears of a financial hit in Apple's third-largest market amid growing competition from Huawei and Beijing's widening curbs on iPhone use by government staff.

The wait is slightly shorter for iPhone 15 Pro in China at two to three weeks, according to Apple website. It said it could deliver iPhone 15 on September 22, the day the phone goes on sale in stores.

In top market United States, buyers will have to wait for six to seven weeks before getting the Pro Max, the most expensive model in the iPhone 15 model line-up that was launched last week. The wait is five to six weeks for the model in Japan.

But like China, the wait is shorter for the Pro model, with a period of just two to three weeks for the 128GB version in the US and Japan.

Some analysts said the long wait period also reflected the lower initial supply of Pro Max as Apple faced hurdles in securing supplies of the displays used in the model with thinner bezels than previous iPhones.

Those issues have, however, been resolved, said Nabila Popal, research director for worldwide tracker group, at IDC.

"We expect Apple to get into full gear by the holiday season with shipments highly skewing towards the Pro Max model, which should give Apple a nice bump in its average-selling price."

Strong China orders

The high-end iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models were sold out on the Apple store on Alibaba's Tmall marketplace within a minute of going on sale, Chinese local media reports said.

On JD.com, one of Apple's biggest sale channels in China, more than 3.4 million reservations were placed in total for the four iPhone 15 models in the run-up to the e-commerce platform opening orders on Friday evening.

"Since the decline of Huawei, the iPhone has been able to attract a massive number of consumers in the more than $600 (nearly Rs. 50,000) segment," said Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint.

"The new iPhone 15 series, especially the Pro series, will be a good choice for the installed base who are using iPhone 11/12 and looking for an update replacement," Lam said, while adding that Huawei's Mate 60 series will be a challenge to the iPhone.

Huawei launched the smartphone with an advanced chip late last month and it could mark a comeback for the Chinese tech firm, which was once the world's biggest smartphone maker before its business was decimated by US export controls, analysts said.

State media reported this week that better-than-expected sales had prompted Huawei to raise its second-half shipment target for its Mate 60 series by 20 percent and its forecast for overall new smartphone shipments in 2023 to at least 40 million units.

Huawei's Mate 60 launch was unusual in that Huawei did not carry out any pre-marketing or organise a glitzy event. The company is set to hold an event on September 25, where it is expected to discuss its new smartphone.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Excellent display
USB Type-C
AAA gaming
Excellent all-round performance
Good primary and telephoto camera
Customisable Action Button

Bad
Gets hot quickly when stressed
Slow wired charging
Expensive

Read detailed Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max review

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Apple A17 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 17

Resolution 1290x2796 pixels

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Apple iPhone 15

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Big upgrades over the 14
Excellent ergonomics, build quality
Very good all-round performance
Apple ecosystem benefits

Bad
Relatively slow charging
Expensive
Still a 60Hz display

Read detailed Apple iPhone 15 review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A16 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 17

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

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Apple iPhone 15 Pro

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A17 Pro

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 17

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

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iPhone 11

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS
Variants

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Best-in-class performance
Excellent battery life
Great cameras
Night Mode is a welcome addition
iOS offers regular, timely updates

Bad
Low-resolution display
Slow bundled charger
No PiP or other software features that utilise the big screen

Read detailed Apple iPhone 11 review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A13 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 4GB

Storage 64GB

Battery Capacity 3110mAh

OS iOS 13

Resolution 828x1792 pixels

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Choose a variant

Huawei Mate 60

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.69-inch

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB

Battery Capacity 4750mAh

OS HarmonyOS Harmony OS 4

Resolution 1216x2688 pixels

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