GoKawiilWe’re about two months away from Apple’s annual iPhone debut in September. This year, though, will be a bit different. Instead of the entire iPhone lineup debuting at once, only the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and all-new foldable iPhone will launch this September. Here’s why.
A growing iPhone lineup
Over the years, the annual iPhone lineup has gradually gotten larger. A short while ago, there were only 3 annual debuts: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. In 2020, that grew to 4 annual debuts with the iPhone 12 mini, and in 2022, the iPhone 12 mini was swapped for the iPhone 14 Plus – and that’s now been swapped for iPhone Air.
With the introduction of iPhone 16e, the annual release cycle grew to 5. With the introduction of iPhone Ultra, it’ll now be 6 annual iPhones. That’s a lot of phones – and a very crowded stage if they all debut at once.
So, Apple has decided to move to a split release schedule.
Two iPhone releases: Fall and Spring
The iPhone 18 lineup will consist of 6 models: iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone 18e, iPhone Air 2, and iPhone Ultra.
There’ll be a theme to this split release schedule: flagships in the fall, and lower end devices in the spring. So, it’ll look like this:
Fall 2026: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Ultra
Spring 2027: iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, iPhone Air 2
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