iPhone Pro buyers face 37-day wait times during holiday season

Holiday shoppers hoping to secure the latest Apple iPhone models will likely be out of luck this year – even if they place their orders as soon as Tuesday.

Customers will face a wait time of up to 37 days after placing an order for the iPhone 14 Pro, according to delivery data compiled by Counterpoint Research.

The analysts indicated the problem appears to be getting worse amid rising unrest at a key factory in China, with delivery times “increasing significantly” for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max across the country, Bloomberg reported.

A representative who answered Apple’s customer service hotline advised placing iPhone orders immediately if they are intended as a holiday gift. Supplies of the premium Pro Max are particularly scarce.

“You should order it, honestly. It’s like this everywhere across the country,” the representative said. “The 14 Pro Max is extremely difficult to find in stores, if at all, and they’ve got a four-week lead time. There is no way to get them earlier, that’s just the current availability at this point.”

“Across the country, they’ve been sold out for the last week and a half, probably,” the representative added.

When The Post tested a sample order on Apple’s online store from midtown Manhattan on Tuesday, the “express delivery” option for both the iPhone 14 Pro and the Pro Max displayed an estimated arrival date of Dec. 29 – a full 30 days later. The same result displayed for a sample order from Los Angeles and Chicago zip codes.

Attempting to buy an iPhone in a Manhattan store is unlikely to yield a better result. The representative said just one Pro Max was available on-site at the 12 stores closest to a Midtown Zip code.

The Post has reached out to Apple for further comment on the situation.

Apple’s base iPhone 14 model has much shorter delivery times, with availability by as soon as Thursday, according to the company’s website. The Pro models have a suite of upgraded features, such as a better camera system, larger size and longer-lasting battery.

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iPhone Pro wait times have spiked over the last month to 37 days from 19 days just four weeks ago. Delivery times are much longer than last year, when the iPhone 13 Pro was shipping in 15 days as of this week, according to Counterpoint’s data.

Worker protests over pay and draconian COVID-19 lockdowns have escalated to violence in recent weeks at the plant. The facility is operated by Apple’s partner, Taiwan-based Foxconn, and serves as a key producer of iPhones.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Apple was projected to produce six million fewer iPhone Pros than it previously expected due to unrest at the facility. A source said production could suffer even further if the COVID-19 lockdowns continue.

Separately, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives estimated that Apple has “significant iPhone shortages that could take off roughly at least 5% of units in the quarter and potentially up to 10% depending on the next few weeks in China around Foxconn production and protests.”