Apple Product Availability Tracker: Strong Mid-Week Expansion in Lead Times Moderates Concerns Around Demand Y/Y

In our mid-week check following initial pre-orders on Sept 12th, lead times on average have expanded by 10 days across the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, driven by 12 days of expansion for the 18 Pro and 7 days for the 18 Pro Max. Following early Week 1 lead times for the iPhone 18 series tracking below the iPhone 17 cycle, lead times are now tracking in line with the iPhone 17 cycle relative to the same time last year after strong expansion over the last few days, particularly with 18 Pro closing most of the gap and the Pro Max in line. Key takeaways: 1) the expansion over the last four days of pre-orders is more pronounced than a year ago (+12 and +7 days for the 18 Pro and Pro Max vs. +5 and +2 days for the 17 Pro and Pro Max), supporting the read that the Week 1 shortfall reflected a larger initial allocation to the premium-only lineup rather than softer demand;