Apple iPhone 18 Pro Release Timeline: New Date Enters The Schedule - Forbes
The special event will reveal the iPhone 18 Pro (in four new colors, perhaps), the iPhone 18 Pro Max, perhaps with a bigger battery, and Apple’s first foldable iPhone. These are the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the first foldable iPhone, which could be called the iPhone Ultra (though I don’t think it will be). But it will only apply to the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the Apple Watches or surprise extras, the same report claimed.
Aug. 30 update. This post, first published on Aug. 29, has been updated to include more details of the schedule running up to the iPhone 18 Pro’s release.
Apple is about to hold its biggest event of the year on Wednesday, Sept. 9. The special event will reveal the iPhone 18 Pro (in four new colors, perhaps), the iPhone 18 Pro Max, perhaps with a bigger battery, and Apple’s first foldable iPhone. Here’s what to expect when, down to the minute. And there’s a new date and time predicted for that key element: when iPhone pre-orders will begin.
There’s a lot coming up, so I’ll let you know in this post what’s been confirmed already and what’s predicted. I’ll update this article as things change, so please check back.
We know when the keynote is happening, and where, at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, at Apple Park, the company’s headquarters. It’ll start at 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. U.K.
What isn’t confirmed is what will be announced, though it’s thought that five products are absolute shoo-ins. These are the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the first foldable iPhone, which could be called the iPhone Ultra (though I don’t think it will be). The other two products look certain to be the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Apple Watch Series 12.
We’ll also learn the pricing for the new iPhones — which may impact whether the iPhone 17 will get pricier, too.
Since Apple took the surprise step of launching two new Mac chips and upgraded Mac mini and Mac Studio on Aug. 25 (full details here), it could mean there’s a lot more to come at the keynote. Otherwise, why launch the Macs early? There could be new AirPods, though probably not the ones with cameras that Apple just confirmed. If there are other products, these could include a new Apple TV box.
This is the surprise change from the regular schedule, but the reason why is clear to see.
Normally, Apple opens pre-orders at 5 a.m. Pacific on the Friday following the special event. But this year, Friday is Sept. 11, and what’s more, the 25th anniversary of the terrorist atrocity. So, it’s no surprise that Apple looks like it’s showing respect for this by shifting the date of the pre-orders. As Mark Gurman from Bloomberg has pointed out, Apple has made this shift before when the Friday has been on this date.
But there’s another change and that’s to the time of day the pre-order will open.
“The time is also set to change, according to the source: While pre-orders usually begin at 5 am PT, Apple is reportedly opening up pre-sales at midnight PT on Saturday, MacRumors reported, referring to a source quoted by its German sibling publication, MacWelt.
That means pre-orders will open the second the clock chimes midnight as Saturday, Sept. 12 begins in the Pacific time zone. That means 3 a.m. Eastern, 8 a.m. in the U.K.
But it will only apply to the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max and the Apple Watches or surprise extras, the same report claimed. “if you’re looking to buy one of the foldable iPhone Ultras, reports claim that preorders might not begin until late September,” it said.
That may be true, but I’d point out that there have been plenty of reports saying that the foldable will be available at the same time as the other products. My gut feeling is this will be the case.
The day that the next-generation iPhone software is made available can vary by a day or two.
Apple’s iPhone software is released a few days before the new phones go on sale, so users of earlier phones can install it. iOS 27 is compatible with the exact same list of phones that could run iOS 26, that is the iPhone 11 onwards. Every iPhone from 2019 and later, in other words, will run the software that will be current until September 2027.
Some features will be restricted to the most recent handsets — Apple Intelligence is only for the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and later, for instance.
The new products traditionally go on sale on the Friday in the week following the keynote and there’s no reason to doubt that schedule applies this year.
No need to give the time zones for the on-sale moment as Apple puts the new products on shelves at 8 a.m. wherever you are. You’ll realize that customers in Australia, for instance, can nab a new iPhone 18 Pro way sooner than buyers in California, thanks to the time difference.
Last year, Apple opened its stores early, at 8 a.m., and it’s thought will do the same this year.