iPhone 18 Pro Pre-Orders May Start at an Unusual Time

Pre-orders of Apple's iPhone 18 Pro may not open until Saturday, September 12, a day later than the company's usual schedule, according to a new report. Apple is set to hold its annual iPhone event on Wednesday, September 9, where the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ models, its first-ever foldable iPhone, and the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 are all expected to be announced. Under Apple's typical launch plan, pre-orders begin the Friday immediately following the event, with devices shipping the following Friday. This year, that would place pre-orders on Friday, September 11, but Macworld reports that its German sister publication, Macwelt, has heard from a reliable source that Apple will instead push pre-orders back to Saturday, September 12. There is precedent for this as the shift is reportedly tied to the date itself. September 11, 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and Apple has moved pre-orders away from that date before. In 2015, when the standard pre-order Friday also landed on September 11, Apple delayed iPhone 6S and 6S Plus pre-orders to Saturday, September 12. The timing within the day is also said to be changing. Apple's pre-orders traditionally open at 5 a.m. PT, but the source says this year's window will instead start at midnight PT on Saturday. The delayed pre-order date is expected to apply to the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌, Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4, alongside any other hardware Apple introduces at the event. Apple's foldable iPhone could follow at a later date, with pre-orders potentially not opening until late September. Earlier this year, Macwelt reported that Apple would announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, but that announcement didn't actually come until March 2. That being said, Saturday, September 12 looks like a solid bet for the ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌'s pre-order date, though the reported midnight PT start time is worth taking with a pinch of salt for now. Apple's iPhone event takes place in just under two weeks, on September 9. Popular StoriesiPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes: What to ExpectMonday August 24, 2026 10:25 am PDT by Tim HardwickApple won't change the display size of this year's iPhone 18 Pro models, but a different change to the display has been rumored several times now. Apple is expected to stick with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, respectively. For context, those are the display sizes of the current iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Meanwhile, rumors continue to ...The MacRumors Show: Revisiting iOS 27 Ahead of iPhone 18 ProAfter over a month of testing iOS 27, on this week's episode of The MacRumors Show we circle back to the beta and talk through our experiences with Siri AI, Liquid Glass refinements, and more. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos iOS 27 is expected to launch this fall, bringing sweeping performance work across the system. Apple has cited more than 80 speed and...iPhone 18 Pro: Twelve Changes Coming to Apple's Next FlagshipFriday August 28, 2026 3:00 am PDT by Tim HardwickWe're less than one month out from the launch of Apple's premium next-generation smartphone lineup, and while we're not expecting a dramatic change in terms of functionality, there are still several enhancements rumored to be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth noting is that Apple is reportedly planning a major change to its iPhone release cycle this year,...