Deepwater Asset Management’s Gene Munster said Monday that Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 18 pre-order wait times have climbed sharply since the weekend, describing the trend as an early, favorable signal of demand across major markets worldwide.
In a post on X, Munster noted that the average lead time across eight countries reached 2.6 weeks three days into pre-orders. This figure increased from 1.6 weeks the day prior, matching the wait times seen for Pro models at the same point last year. Munster attributed part of the increase to a shift in pre-orders from Friday to Saturday, which placed more buyers online simultaneously.
“The important part is lead times are going up, which has historically been a favorable sign for demand,” he added.
Bank of America’s tracking offers a more cautious perspective on the metric. The bank reported that the global average ship time for the iPhone 18 Pro is 14 days, compared to 18 days for last year’s iPhone 17 Pro at the same stage. The Pro Max wait time dropped to 18 days from 25 days for the previous model. Bank of America cautioned that these figures are “directional rather than directly comparable” this year, noting that various factors could shorten wait times without necessarily reflecting stronger demand.
Regarding pricing, Munster and technology analyst Dan Ives have both stated that Apple’s price increases have caused minimal customer churn, suggesting the company has room to raise prices without significantly denting demand. The new foldable Duo launched at $1,999, which was below Wall Street’s expectations of $2,099. Additionally, the 18 Pro and Pro Max prices rose by $100 each at this year’s launch, the first major product event under new CEO John Ternus.
Apple delayed the base iPhone 18 and Air models to next year and pushed the Duo foldable launch to later in 2026.
On Monday, shares of Apple closed at $333.08, climbing 0.24%, and fell 0.26% in extended trading.
