According to JP Morgan, iPhone 13 customers would not need to wait as long for the delivery of their new phone, indicative of increased production. Despite this, lead times for the iPhone 13 remain longer than for the iPhone 12.

In an investor note, JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee mentioned that the lead times for iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro have reduced for the second consecutive week. When the iPhone 12 launched, customers didn’t have to wait as long after the same amount of time had elapsed since its launch. The analyst added that in some regions, the lead time for the iPhone 13 is on par with the iPhone 12.

The latest iPhone has been in short supply due to the ongoing global chip shortage that has impacted production at the facilities of Apple’s partners. This is why the iPhone 13 has noticeably longer lead times than the iPhone 12. Despite being a seemingly minor upgrade over the iPhone 12, the initial demand for the iPhone 13 series has been very strong which has further exacerbated the supply crunch.

Across all the regions that JP Morgan was tracking, lead times  compared to the week before moderated as follows:

• iPhone 13 mini lead time dropped from eight days to five
• iPhone 13 lead time dropped from 10 days to five
• iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max lead time dropped from 26 days to 23

The analyst observed that compared to the last-generation iPhone, lead times are now a tad bit ahead across all the models.

The US accounts for 35 percent of all iPhone shipments. Here, the delivery dates for the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 dropped to seven and eight days down from 10 and 11 days, respectively. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models show estimated delivery dates 21 days out, down from 28 days.

Meanwhile, in China, lead times for the iPhone 13 dropped from 17 days to just seven days — a significant reduction, accompanied by similar reductions in delivery times for other iPhone 13 models. Delivery dates also drew closer to the date of purchase in the UK and Germany. The regions account for 5 percent of all iPhone shipments.

That said, lead times are not an accurate representation of the demand or supply of the iPhone. This is primarily because both metrics are related to each other. Chatterjee noted that the delivery dates drawing closer could suggest an increase in supply, presumably ahead of the busy holiday season.