Kuo: iPhone 17 series demand surpasses iPhone 16, iPhone 17 Pro Max leads preorders

Apple unveiled its new iPhone 17 series last week on Tuesday, with preorders going live on Friday, September 12. Now, early preorder data suggests the new iPhones are attracting stronger demand than the iPhone 16 lineup did a year ago, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo notes that planned production for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Pro, and standard models in Q3 2025 is up 25% compared to last year. Wait times for the three models are also slightly longer, which aligns with recent reports from JP Morgan.

While JP Morgan has highlighted stronger interest in the base iPhone 17, Kuo points out that the iPhone 17 Pro Max remains the star of the lineup. Apple’s production plan for the flagship is set to rise by about 60% compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, even though delivery times are roughly the same. For reference, JP Morgan reported wait times of around four and 21 days for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, compared to six and 20 days for the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max during their first preorder week.

Interestingly, the new slimmed-down iPhone Air has had a slower start compared to the rest of the lineup. This may partly be due to its delayed launch in China amid eSIM regulation issues. As it stands, iPhone Air preorders will ship on launch day, suggesting a lower demand compared to the iPhone 16 Plus, which had a 2-week delivery lead time, Kuo says. Even so, Apple’s production plan for the Air is about triple that of the iPhone 16 Plus, indicating the Cupertino giant expects demand to grow over time.

That said, the iPhone 17 series remains available for preorder on the Apple Store. In the US, the iPhone Air and base iPhone 17 are scheduled to arrive on launch day, September 19, while the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max now face wait times of up to three and four weeks, respectively.