You can almost always predict Apple’s launch schedules for iPhones. They always land in the fall. September seems to be Apple’s favourite month to launch its main series. There’s usually another launch in February for the budget “e” version. But it has been inconsistent. We hear the iPhone 18 series will change things, schedule-wise.
Even before the iPhone 17 series debuted, it was pretty much guaranteed which month Apple would pick for launch. They settled for September 9 this year, if you didn’t know. Well, there seems to be a new strategy in play now that will probably make the iPhone 18 series unpredictable in more than one way.
Ming-Chi Kuo has made a prediction. The leaker has said in his latest social media post that the base iPhone 18 is splitting up from the main series. He gave a full road map of iPhone releases from 2025 to 2027. The iPhone 17e dropping in the first half of 2026 is pretty much set in stone.
Things will be changing down the road in the second half of 2026. They say a foldable iPhone is on the way. All these changes are being made just to accommodate Apple's new iPhone model. Apple wants to release only four devices next fall, so they had to kick out the base iPhone from the 2026 schedule.
| iphone model | Expected Announcement |
| iphone 18 | spring 2027 |
| iphone 18 Pro | Fall 2026 (Probably September) |
| iphone 18 Pro Max | Fall 2026 (Probably September) |
| iphone Air 2 (2026) | Fall 2026 (Probabaly September) |
| iphone 18e | Spring 2027 |
| Foldable iphone | Fall 2026 (Probabaly September) |
But don’t worry, the vanilla iPhone hasn’t been discounted. Kuo believes the iPhone 18e and the base iPhone 18 will launch together in 2027, which puts almost one and a half years’ gap between the current and next model. Though we hardly think it will be missed.
The excitement for the iPhone Fold will probably overshadow the basic iPhone 18. We’ll see a new version of the iPhone Air in Fall 2026. Of course, the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max will also join the series on the same stage.
We found more details on the leak. Ming-Chi Kuo says the second half of 2027 will be the time for the iPhone Fold 2, iPhone 19 Slim (iPhone Air 3), and the usual iPhone 19 Pro and Pro Max. As always, we advise caution not to take these details at face value, at least until their credibility is proven. It’s simply too early to predict anything, so take this news with a hint of sarcasm.