Updated September 1 with news of a different pre-order date and what that means in practice.
The iPhone 16 series, that is, the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, are almost here. Here’s your complete guide to what, I believe, will happen when, before Apple confirms stuff. A new report claims that one element in the upcoming schedule is changing this year: the date that pre-orders will open.
Instead of the iPhone 16 series going on pre-sale on Friday, September 13, this year it will be Thursday, September 12, according to German site Macerkopf. It’s not clear what the logic for this is.
We can rule out superstition for launching on Friday the 13th: Apple has often said it’s not superstitious and even named a phone the iPhone 13 to prove it.
And the fact that the keynote is a day earlier than many expected is hardly reason enough.
But I think there is reason to trust the site in one respect: last year there was an option to select the iPhone you wanted online the day before pre-orders began. It worked like this: you could choose the iPhone you want until 9 p.m. Pacific the night before, selecting the model and leaving it in the online shopping bag, ready to click the buy button the moment pre-orders begin. This was a neat way to jump the line. I would strongly expect Apple to do the same thing this year.
Which means the pre-orders will still begin on Friday, September 13, but you can get things sorted the night before in readiness for this.
Apart from that, the release of the iPhone follows a clear process, beginning with Apple announcing the keynote and ending with the iPhones reaching consumers’ hands.
This post will be updated the moment things happen (and you can check how right or wrong I was).
1. Apple Sends Out Official Invites To The Special Event
This happened on Monday, August 26 and it confirmed the date and time when the new products will be unveiled for the first time.
CONFIRMED!
2. The Apple Special Event
We knew on the day the invites went out that the event will be in the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, on Monday, September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific.
Humble brag: I guessed that the event would be on the Monday, when everyone else thought it would be Tuesday, September 10. Check my reasons here. Forgive me for crowing, it may be the last time I get the scoop on something like this.
CONFIRMED!
3. Pre-Orders Begin
This date is usually regular. It routinely falls on the Friday one week before onsale date, the week after the keynote. This year that would mean Friday, September 15. The time is subject to change but last year it started at 5 a.m. Pacific, that is 8 a.m. Eastern and 1 p.m. in the U.K.
4. Apple releases iOS 18
This often happens in the same week as the keynote but my bet is that it’ll be the following Monday, that is, September 16 at around 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. U.K.
If your iPhone can run iOS 17, then it will be able to run iOS 18, too—the compatibility list is identical and reaches back to the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone Xr.
5. iPhone Reviews Appear
This will be early in the week after the keynote, I predict, on a separate day from Apple Watch reviews. Select press will be seeded the iPhones from soon after the special event, and reviews could appear on Tuesday, September 17 or Wednesday 18 from 6 a.m. Pacific, 9 a.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. U.K., though this timing can change.
6. Apple iPhone 16, Apple iPhone 16 Pro Go On Sale
Almost without exception, Apple puts the iPhones on sale on the Friday in the week after the keynote. Everything is rumored to be bang on time this year, so I believe that means Friday, September 20. The time is usually early morning local time, so 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. wherever you are.
And after that, we start girding ourselves for the iPhone 17 release! Please check back—I’ll update this post to confirm or correct as everything is revealed.
