The iPhone 18 release date could slip later than expected – here’s why

Every year, Apple announces the new iPhone in September, and every year, the new phone goes on sale the same month. But this year could be the exception.

Because while the iPhone 18 range is widely rumoured to be announced at the start of September, as normal, certain models in the range might ship later than usual.

This September should only see the iPhone 18 Pro models launch (that’s the Pro and Pro Max), alongside the new ‘Ultra’ foldable iPhone. While Apple usually launches the standard iPhone model at the same event, it’s heavily rumoured to be saving this for spring 2027, when it will launch alongside the latest iPhone ‘e’ cheaper variant.

Both the Pro models and the Ultra have been rumoured to ship later than previously expected.

With the Pros, the delay is expected to be negligible. They’re expected to be announced on Wednesday 9th September, and while new iPhones are usually available to pre-order the Friday after launch, this year that would fall on 11th September, which is the 25th anniversary of the Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Hence Apple is rumoured to delay pre-orders until the next day, Saturday 12th September.

Apple did the same with the iPhone 6s launch back in 2015. That year, the Friday after launch also fell on September 11th, so Apple delayed the pre-order date until the Saturday.

The pre-order window is usually a full seven days, which would mean an on-sale date of Saturday 19th September – one day later than previously rumoured.

This rumour comes from Mark Gurman, who has a very good track record on Apple leaks.

The iPhone Ultra model could face a much longer delay. This new model has been rumoured to be delayed numerous times over the past few months – as a new model, with a tricky new foldable form factor, it’s likely posing some engineering problems even for a company as sophisticated and experienced as Apple. It’s been rumoured to launch as late as 2027 or December 2026, though others say it is on course to be announced at Apple’s event next month, and will go on sale soon after or even alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models.

At this stage, a lot remains unknown. All we do know for sure is that we’re in for a pretty exciting September.