Apple has set September 9, 2026 for its annual iPhone event, titled "Surprise and Shine," at Apple Park in Cupertino at 10 a.m. Pacific time. It's the first product launch under new CEO John Ternus, who took over after Tim Cook's departure earlier in 2026. Below is a live countdown to the event, followed by what's expected to ship and when.
What's expected at the September 9 event
Reporting ahead of the event points to three new iPhones: the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and Apple's first foldable iPhone, widely expected to be branded iPhone Ultra or Fold. Unlike prior years, there's no standard iPhone 18 in this lineup — Apple is reportedly holding the more affordable model back for a separate spring 2027 launch. All three new phones are expected to use Apple's next chip, the A20 Pro, built on a 2-nanometer process.
iPhone 18 Pro pre-order and release date
Based on Apple's typical rollout pattern, pre-orders are expected to open on Friday, September 11 (with a chance Apple pushes it to Saturday, September 12, to avoid a September 11 date), and devices are expected to reach customers on Friday, September 19, 2026. Apple has not published these dates directly — they're inferred from the event date and the company's release cadence in prior years.
Beyond the iPhone
The event is also expected to bring hardware refreshes across Apple's other product lines: an Apple Watch Series 12 with a ceramic case option, an Apple Watch Ultra 4, and a new generation of AirPods 5, in both noise-cancelling and non-noise-cancelling versions.
Track the countdown
The countdown above runs on your device's local time zone automatically. For scheduling around the event from a different time zone, our time zone calculator converts it directly.
Sources: event date, time, and title via MacRumors and CNBC; expected product lineup and chip details via AppleInsider and 9to5Mac; pre-order and release-date pattern via MacRumors.
