- The iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and the foldable iPhone could arrive in September
- The iPhone 18, iPhone 18e and iPhone Air 2 could land around March 2027
- iPhone Air 2 could have better battery life but without additional cameras
We’ve gotten used to Apple releasing all of the year’s major new iPhones every September, but that may no longer be the case as a major leak points to a change in release timing and details what to expect from the iPhone Air 2.
This new information comes from Apple insider Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg, who detailed what to expect from the iPhone lineup, and when, throughout 2026 and 2027.
And while Gurman only details the next 18 months of releases here, he says this new pattern will continue for “years to come.” Here’s a look at how Apple could be changing things.
September/fall 2026
According to Gurman (via Apple Insider), the next iPhones won’t arrive until ‘fall’ 2026, which likely means September, since, as noted above, September is Apple’s usual release window.
It may not seem surprising, but while mainstream iPhones typically launch around September, mid-range models like the SE line and the recent iPhone 16e tend to launch early in the year, around March. Therefore, we may not see any such launch 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 probably the first foldable iPhone.
In other words, this September window is when Apple’s most premium models could launch. However, according to Gurman, that no longer includes models like the base model iPhone 18.
March/spring 2027
If you’re looking for the base model, you’ll apparently have to wait until about six months later, i.e. 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 in 2027, low-end models would land in the first half of each year, and high-end models would launch in the second half.
And speaking of the iPhone Air 2, Gurman shed some more light on this particular phone, stating (via 9to5Mac) that it was never planned for a 2026 release, making previous claims that it had been delayed inaccurate.
Gurman also stated that the main update to the iPhone Air 2 will be a new 2nm chipset, which should improve battery life. We had previously heard that this phone could have a second rear camera, but according to Gurman, that is unlikely.
Finally, Gurman stated that the iPhone Air exists partially as a prototype of 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 only to help the company develop a foldable phone.
In any case, while we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt, Gurman has an excellent track record of reporting on Apple, and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of a change in the release schedule, or that the iPhone Air will be a testbed for some technologies that the foldable iPhone will use.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
