Pre-orders opened at 5 AM PT this morning and the iPhone 17 Pro Max is already slipping to October delivery dates. Because apparently Apple still can't figure out basic demand forecasting after 17 years of doing this exact same dance.
The 17 Pro Max in Silver and the new Cosmic Orange color are showing October 6-13 delivery estimates by 7 AM - two hours after pre-orders started. Deep Blue is slightly better but still backordered. Meanwhile, the regular iPhone 17 and the hyped iPhone Air are both still showing September 19 launch day delivery.
Here's what's fucking stupid about this: Apple announced these phones three days ago. They've known for months exactly which SKUs they were launching, what the pricing would be, and what their typical demand patterns look like. Yet somehow they're "surprised" that the most expensive model with the newest color options sells out fastest.
The iPhone Air situation is particularly telling. Apple spent 45 minutes on stage talking about how revolutionary this ultra-thin design is, how it's the "biggest leap ever for iPhone." But it's the only model still available for launch day delivery across all storage options. Either nobody gives a shit about thin phones anymore, or Apple made way too many of them expecting iPhone 6-level mania.
I set four alarms to wake up at 4:45 AM for this. Opened the Apple Store app at exactly 5:00 AM, and it took 12 minutes just to load the iPhone section. By the time I could actually configure a Pro Max, shipping had already slipped to October 8th. Classic Apple infrastructure failing under load they should have predicted.
What's even more annoying is Apple doubled the entry storage to 256GB and raised the Pro Max price to $1,399 (up from $1,299 last year). So you're paying $100 more and still waiting a month to get it. Great value proposition there.
The supply chain issues aren't new. We've been hearing about Display Supply Chain Consultants predicting shortages for months. Apple's supplier relationships with Samsung and LG for the new titanium displays have had known production bottlenecks since July. Yet here we are, acting surprised.
My advice? Don't panic buy. These shipping estimates always improve within a week as Apple figures out actual demand vs. initial hoarding. Unless you absolutely need the latest phone on September 19, wait until October and walk into any Apple Store. You'll skip the shipping lottery and get the same phone without the hysteria.