Ishan Crawford Apple is expected to put the iPhone 18 Pro on stage during the week of September 7, with Tuesday, September 8, 2026 looking like the most likely date for its annual fall keynote and Wednesday, September 9 as the backup. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has covered Apple’s plans for years, points to the first Tuesday or Wednesday after Labor Day, which this year lands on Monday, September 7. That timing keeps Apple’s familiar pre-order Friday and on-shelf Friday rhythm intact.
What Apple puts on stage will be bigger than usual. Alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple is preparing its first foldable iPhone, potentially badged the iPhone Ultra. What is missing this fall is the standard iPhone 18, which AppleInsider reports is now scheduled for spring 2027 in the first split iPhone launch Apple has run. Apple last held a similar cadence with the iPhone 16e.
The Date Is September 8, Probably the 9th
Apple has not officially announced the event. The strongest read on the date comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has covered Apple launches for years and says “the most likely date” is Tuesday, September 8, 2026, with Wednesday, September 9 as the runner-up. Labor Day lands on September 7 this year, and Apple’s pattern is to unveil new iPhones on the first Tuesday or Wednesday after Labor Day.
The September timing is not incidental. Apple’s mid-September iPhone launches tend to land new device revenue inside the company’s fourth fiscal quarter. That puts pre-orders on the Friday of the keynote week and shelf dates the following Friday. Gurman posted his reasoning publicly on June 28, 2026 as a historical read; the full reasoning appears in his full date-prediction post from June 28.
Based on history, the most likely date for Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra announcement is either Tuesday Sept. 8 or Wednesday Sept. 9. But Labor Day is on Sept. 7, so Apple may prefer a travel gap day and prefer Sept. 9 for that reason.
Three Phones Take the Stage, Including the First Foldable
The keynote will run longer than a typical Apple September event. Three devices are widely expected to anchor the show: the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple’s first foldable iPhone, often referred to in leaks as the iPhone Ultra or iPhone Fold.
The foldable dominates the design bets. It is described in leaks as Apple’s first foldable iPhone, a device that opens into a small tablet with a 7.8-inch inner display and a 5.5-inch cover screen. It is tipped to run Apple’s A20 chip and the company’s next-generation C2 modem. Two rear cameras are expected, with a Touch ID power button on the side replacing Face ID.
| Feature | iPhone 18 Pro (rumored) | iPhone 18 Pro Max (rumored) | Foldable iPhone (rumored) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | Smaller Dynamic Island via under-display Face ID | Same as Pro | 7.8-inch inner, 5.5-inch cover |
| Chip | A20 Pro on TSMC 2nm | A20 Pro on TSMC 2nm | A20 on TSMC 2nm |
| Camera | Variable-aperture main 48MP | Same as Pro | Two rear cameras |
| Biometrics | Under-display Face ID | Under-display Face ID | Touch ID power button |
| Modem | Apple C2 | Apple C2 | Apple C2 |
| Starting price | $1,249 to $1,299 (IDC estimate) | $1,349 to $1,399 (IDC estimate) | Around $2,000 or more |
Pricing is the headline risk for the new category. Reports point to a starting line around $2,000 or more, with IDC’s Nabila Popal estimating an average selling price around $2,500 and higher storage tiers around $3,000. Apple has not officially named the foldable, set its storage tiers, or confirmed any of these figures.
Inside the iPhone 18 Pro
For most buyers, the iPhone 18 Pro will be the day’s main event. The leak chorus now points to four headline changes worth knowing about.
- A smaller Dynamic Island by moving a Face ID component under the display.
- An A20 Pro chip built on TSMC’s 2-nanometer process.
- Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module packaging that integrates RAM with the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine on the chip wafer.
- A variable-aperture main 48-megapixel camera.
- A simplified Camera Control button on the side of the phone.
The Pro is widely tipped to inherit Apple’s first chip built on TSMC’s 2-nanometer process, the A20 Pro, in what 9to5Mac has called the most meaningful chip jump in years. The process shift, paired with the new packaging design called Wafer-Level Multi-Chip Module, would put RAM onto the chip wafer alongside the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine. That arrangement is reported to bring faster on-device AI work and better thermals. Apple has not confirmed any of the chip details.
Camera changes are also on the way. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has repeatedly predicted a variable-aperture lens on the main 48-megapixel camera, allowing users to manually adjust how much light reaches the sensor for the first time on an iPhone. A wider aperture would let photographers dial in shallower depth of field on demand.
Apple is also testing a tighter color palette for the Pro line, according to a Weibo leaker cited by AppleInsider. Candidates include coffee, purple, and burgundy, with only one believed to make it to production. Tom’s Guide has reported a dark cherry option as a likely replacement for the orange iPhone 17 Pro. AppleInsider expects the iPhone 18 Pro Max to land at approximately 243g, 10g heavier than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple has not confirmed colors, weight, or other design details.
The First September Without a Base iPhone
The September stage will not look like past Apple keynotes. For the first time in the iPhone’s history, the standard model is being held back from the keynote. AppleInsider reported in late January 2026 that Apple intends to ship the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the new foldable in September, with the standard iPhone 18 and a successor to the iPhone Air landing in spring 2027.
The split is not strictly about marketing. According to a Nikkei Asia report cited by AppleInsider, supply-chain strain is one of the primary drivers. Memory prices have spiked on demand from AI servers, and Apple’s suppliers have flagged component costs as one of the year’s biggest challenges. Widening the manufacturing window lets Apple avoid the seasonal factory rush and ship premium models first, echoing the cadence Apple used for the iPhone 16e.
CEO Tim Cook has acknowledged on a recent earnings call that memory costs are rising and that Apple has “a range of options” to manage them. He stopped short of confirming any split-launch strategy.
A $200 Price Hike Is Already on the Table
The price story is also different this year. After Apple’s recent round of price increases on iPads and MacBooks, IDC’s Nabila Popal revised her forecast for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max upward, from $100 to up to $200 per model.
What is driving the pressure is a global memory crunch. AI server demand has tightened supply of high-bandwidth DRAM and NAND, and Apple’s choice to bump the Pro line to 12GB of RAM, up from 8GB on the iPhone 17 Pro, compounds the cost. M4 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro models, both with 12GB of RAM, saw $150 to $200 price increases that IDC cites as comparable comps. The math Popal ran would put the iPhone 18 Pro starting between $1,249 and $1,299 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max between $1,349 and $1,399.
- Up to $200: IDC’s revised Pro price-hike estimate
- 12GB: expected RAM in the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
- 54%: share of iPhones shipped since 2022 that IDC says still need to upgrade for the new Siri
- $2,500: IDC’s estimated average selling price for the foldable
IDC is betting the hike will not slow upgrades, because much of Apple’s installed base is already ineligible for the latest Apple Intelligence features. The firm estimates that 54 percent of iPhones shipped since 2022 still need an upgrade to run the new Siri, an installed base that few rivals can match. A $200 increase spread over 36 monthly payments is, per IDC, about $5 per month.
Apple has not officially commented on iPhone pricing. The dynamic playing out is partly a competitive one, as Forbes notes that Samsung has already raised prices on last year’s Galaxy Z Fold7 by $80, with this summer’s Galaxy Z Fold8 and Pixel 11 Pro launches likely to follow suit. Normalizing a $200 bump across the industry reframes the September announcement as a wider shift than an Apple-specific squeeze. Forbes and IDC have framed the rise as a uniform response to prevailing memory and silicon costs. The foldable’s rumored $2,000-or-higher starting price sets the ceiling for the September lineup.
A New Apple CEO on the Stage
This September is expected to mark Apple’s first iPhone keynote under John Ternus. The senior hardware executive is on track to succeed Tim Cook as CEO. Most reporting frames the event as the incoming CEO’s first iPhone launch.
Apple has not officially announced Ternus’s start date. Notebookcheck frames the September event as Ternus’s first iPhone keynote. The publication adds that his first keynote “will also be quite different from previous ones,” with no further detail. What changes on stage, if anything, will become clear once the event invitation lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the iPhone 18 Pro be announced?
Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the most likely announcement date is Tuesday, September 8, 2026, with Wednesday, September 9 as the fallback if Apple prefers a day off from the Labor Day travel rush. Apple has not officially announced a date.
Is there really going to be a foldable iPhone this year?
Gurman reports Apple’s first foldable is on track to debut in September 2026 alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, in a book-style design with a 7.8-inch inner display and a 5.5-inch cover screen. Early supply could be limited.
How much will the iPhone 18 Pro cost?
IDC forecasts the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max could each rise by up to $200 over the current generation, driven by rising memory costs. That would put the Pro between $1,249 and $1,299 and the Pro Max between $1,349 and $1,399 at starting storage. Apple has not announced pricing.
When is the standard iPhone 18 coming out?
The standard iPhone 18 and a follow-up to the iPhone Air are now expected in spring 2027. AppleInsider reports the split is driven at least partly by supply-chain constraints, not just a marketing reset.
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