Back in September, we wrote that the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max were facing the longest shipping delays since the iPhone 11, and almost two months later, the larger of those two models is still proving to be the hottest ticket in tech town.

Head over to Apple’s official website, and you’ll see that there’s a two-week wait for the iPhone 17 Pro Max in every color and storage configuration, regardless of whether you’re shopping from the US, UK, or Australia. I’m writing this from the UK, and can see even longer wait times for Apple’s new best iPhone at third-party retailers – at Very, for instance, you can pre-order the iPhone 17 Pro Max for delivery on November 28, while John Lewis isn’t even specifying a delivery date for its incoming Pro Max stock.

In any case, for prospective deal hunters, this shipping situation pretty much confirms what we all knew anyway: the iPhone 17 Pro Max probably won’t be discounted for Black Friday this year.

I know, I know – talk about stating the obvious. Apple itself doesn’t concern itself with terms like ‘deals’ and ‘Black Friday’, but we have seen (very) minor discounts offered on the latest iPhones at third-party retailers in the past during the November sales season, so it wasn’t completely foolish to expect the same thing to happen this year.

In the UK, for instance, Amazon knocked £30 off the price of the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro for a limited time during Black Friday 2024. Might the retailer repeat the trick in 2025? It’s certainly possible for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and even the iPhone Air, but given that the iPhone 17 Pro Max remains out of stock at Amazon in several regions, it’s incredibly unlikely that we’ll see any sort of saving offered on Apple’s top model.

So, will we see any iPhone 17 Pro Max deals at all? Yes and no – it really depends on your interpretation of ‘deal’. While device-only discounts are likely to be pretty much non-existent, carriers like Verizon in the US, O2 in the UK, and Spintel in Australia could offer small but welcome promotions on their respective sim-plus-device iPhone 17 Pro Max plans.

For a taste of what to expect in the coming weeks, check out my roundup of last year’s Black Friday iPhone deals, which included Verizon’s Ultimate Unlimited promotion for the iPhone 16 Pro and Best Buy’s $100 gift card offer on the standard iPhone 16. Both offers are likely to return in 2025 for Apple’s iPhone 17 line, though deals on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, specifically, might be less forthcoming.

In any case, we’re tracking the best iPhone 17 deals on a dedicated page – which you should definitely scour for any current promotions – and if you’re not desperate for an iPhone 17 Pro Max right this second, why not wait until Black Friday anyway? You’ve really got nothing to lose – especially as you can’t get your hands on one for at least two weeks, whatever you do.

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