Damo: Apple (AAPL.US) supply chain improved, iPhone 16 delivery time decreased compared to 15 series

Zhitong Finance learned that according to Morgan Stanley, the overall delivery time of Apple's (AAPL.US) iPhone 16 declined year on year, but delivery time for Pro and Pro Max models has recently increased because the first phase of Apple's AI function Apple Intelligence is expected to launch on October 28.

Overall, the iPhone 16's basic model, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max all had shorter delivery times one month after release than the iPhone 15. The average delivery time for all iPhone 15 models during this cycle is 20.9 days. Currently, the average delivery time for all iPhone 16 models is 13.25 days, according to Morgan Stanley. Recently, however, delivery times for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max increased by 2 days to 20.5 days and 27.5 days respectively, so demand is increasing; this is still lower than last year's model's 34.8 days and 27.5 days.

Morgan Stanley analysts led by Erik Woodring said in a report on Tuesday: “Our inspection of the supply chain shows that in this cycle, Apple requires suppliers to prepare parts inventory earlier than the usual model to avoid tight supply, and in the past cycle, supply shortages caused the imbalance between supply and demand for the new iPhone Pro/Pro Max for several months. We believe that better supply conditions are one reason why delivery times for the iPhone are shorter in this cycle than in recent cycles.”

The first phase of Apple Intelligence is expected to be released on October 28, when Apple will release the iOS 18.1 update to US users. The update will include new writing tools, a new Siri interface, text and message summaries, a “clean up” feature for photos, audio transcription, and improvements to the Safari browser.

The company will launch more Apple Intelligence features in the December iOS 18.2 update. However, the non-English version of the update is not expected to be released until March 2025.

Second, Morgan Stanley also pointed out that the iPhone SE4, which costs around $499, will enable Apple to enter the low-end smartphone market, which has a potential market of 837 million US dollars (159 billion US dollars) worldwide and is expected to be released in March 2025.

Also, for Apple, another possible catalyst is the new iPad mini built for Apple Intelligence, which will go on sale on October 23.