- iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and the foldable iPhone may land in September
- iPhone 18, iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2 could land around March 2027
- iPhone Air 2 may have better battery life, but no extra cameras
We’ve gotten used to Apple releasing all of the year’s new iPhones in September every year, but that may not be the case anymore, as a major leak points to a launch-time shake-up and details what to expect from the iPhone Air 2.
This new information comes from Apple tipster Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg, who has detailed what to expect from the iPhone line — and when — throughout 2026 and 2027.
And while Gurman only details the next 18 months or so of releases here, he claims this new pattern will continue for “years to come.” So below, here’s a look at how Apple might be shaking things up.
September/Autumn 2026
According to Gurman (via Apple Insider), the next iPhones won’t land until the ‘fall’ of 2026, which likely means September since, as mentioned above, September is Apple’s usual release window.
It may not sound surprising, but while mainline iPhones typically launch around September, mid-range models like the SE line and the latest iPhone 16e tend to launch earlier in the year, around March. So we may not see any such launches in 2026.
As for what we’ll see in or around September, according to Gurman, you can expect the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and likely the first foldable iPhone.
So, in other words, this September window is when Apple’s most premium models can be launched. But according to Gurman, that no longer includes people like the base model iPhone 18.
March/Spring 2027
If you’re after the entry-level model, you’ll apparently have to wait until around six months later, around March 2027, when the iPhone 18 is said to launch alongside the mid-range iPhone 18e and “potentially” the iPhone Air 2.
With this approach, starting from 2027, the lower end models would land in the first half of each year and the higher end ones launch in the second half.
And speaking of the iPhone Air 2, Gurman shed some more light on this handset in particular, claiming (via 9to5Mac) that it was never slated for a 2026 launch, so previous claims that it had been delayed were inaccurate.
Gurman also stated that the main upgrade on the iPhone Air 2 will be a new 2nm chipset, which should improve battery life. We had previously heard that this phone might have a different rear camera, but according to Gurman, that is unlikely.
Finally, Gurman claimed that the iPhone Air exists in part as a prototype for the foldable iPhone, as it will apparently use “many of the same materials, miniaturization techniques, internal components, batteries and software optimizations” as the iPhone Air.
So the fact that the iPhone Air is reportedly not selling brilliantly might not bother Apple too much if it exists in part just to help the company develop a foldable phone.
In any case, while we’d take all of this with a grain of salt, Gurman has an excellent track record for Apple information, and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of a shake-up of the release schedule or the iPhone Air being a test bed for some technology the foldable iPhone will use.
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