William Gallagher
Following the start of preorders for the iPhone 16 range, the earliest shipping date for the iPhone 16 Pro Max has already slipped back a week.
As preorders opened around the world, the shipping dates for all iPhone 16 models plus the were listed as being on September 20. That's the date Apple announced shipping would begin, but within 18 minutes, the site was reporting dates slipping into the following week.
It appears that natural titanium was only last year's fashion favorite, because both the entry level 256GB and high end 1TB configurations in that color remained available for shipping on September 20 for around ten minutes longer than the others.
Dates are changing rapidly, but with those first 18 minutes, the 1TB desert titanium iPhone 16 Pro Max was showing as shipping in 5-7 days. The white and black 1TB editions went immediately to 7-10 days.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max was the first to slip from September 20. By around 35 minutes after preorders began, the 1TB and 512GB configurations of the white iPhone 16 Pro slipped to 5-7 days too.
At around two hours, all configurations and all colors of the iPhone 16 Pro Max were showing a shipping time of 3-4 weeks. That puts delivery into early October.
Most versions of the iPhone 16 Pro are now delayed too, except the black 128GB version. That remains listed as September 20, but the black 256GB version is 5-7 days, while all other variations are 7-10 days.
So had the 1TB version of the iPhone 16 Pro in black. All other colors and storage configurations of the iPhone 16 Pro remained showing as shipping on September 20.
Over two hours after preorders began, all colors and all configurations of the iPhone 16 are still shipping on September 20 — except one. The 256GB version in Teal is now showing 7-10 days.
Every storage capacity and every color of the iPhone 16 Plus is still available for September 20 deliver.
Where else to get iPhones
It's not possible to infer that the iPhone 16 Pro Max is an enormous success, though, or even really to conclude that Apple has sold out of them. Apple prepares a certain quantity of iPhones for the initial launch period, reportedly between 15 million and 16 million, but that is split between its online and retail stores.
Regardless of whether a particular iPhone, configuration, or color, is listed as now taking weeks to arrive, stocks will be available in physical Apple Stores on September 20.
Plus all of the new iPhones are available from other vendors.
- AT&T Wireless - Get up to $1,000 off iPhone 16 models at AT&T with an eligible trade*
- Verizon Wireless - Get an iPhone 16 on Verizon with the Unlimited Ultimate plan and trade*
- Boost Mobile on Amazon - Get up to $1,000 off with no trade-in required*
- Visible - Get up to $360 in monthly credits when you join Visible and buy an iPhone 16 Pro* Terms and conditions apply. Please see site for details.
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18 Comments
Ordered a black, 256GB 16 Pro at 8:30ish and it will arrive on 9/20.
No surprise and everyone wants/buys the most expensive top end iPhones, and the cheaper versions sell the least. Cue all the people in the comment sections who say they won’t buy but what do you know? Large numbers of people (the public) who don’t inhabit comment sections, come out of the woodwork and buy a new iPhones to the consternation of many in the tech/youtube forums.
Orders began, at least here in the U.S., with Sept 20th as the DELIVERY date, not the shipping date. Also, as of right now, while delivery dates have slipped for the Pro Max into the 1st/2nd week of Oct, you can still order one for pick-up at an Apple Store on Sept 20th.
The models that sell out first aren’t necessarily the most popular. Most likely Apple does their best to predict the relative popularity of different models and prioritizes initial production quantities accordingly, so if some models sell out before others, it probably reflects the difference between their predictions and the reality. There may also be manufacturing and/or component factors that affect the availability of some models more than others.