By: Nick Gambino
Apple has been releasing a new series of iPhones every autumn since they moved away from the summer release window of their first few phones. Starting with the iPhone 4S they began releasing the whole new year’s lineup of phones somewhere between September and November.
Not even the Covid pandemic threw off this schedule. Outside of a few spring releases of their budget phones like the SE, this has been the norm for over a decade.
Well, it looks like that’s finally going to change starting in 2026. A report from The Information citing some supply chain sources claims that they are only going to release the Pro models of the iPhone 18 in fall of 2026 and will push all of the other smartphones in the 18 lineup to spring of the next year.
This means we’ll see the base model iPhone 18 and a budget phone at the same time in spring 2027. It’s a clear sign which kind of phone Apple values the most. And they’re not wrong. I never even consider the “regular” iPhone because the Pro is for all intents and purposes the only real iPhone. Everything else is a budgetary phone with limited specs and features.
This whole schedule shift is supposedly to allow the company to manage a wave of new phones coming down the pike. There are substantial rumors swirling that Apple is coming out with their very own foldable iPhone.
This folding smartphone would allow users to flip from an iPhone sized device to something that resembles an iPad mini. That’s what the whispers are saying at least. Apple has yet to even confirm the existence of a foldable iPhone. But you can bet they’re working on it. Whether it’ll be popular is another thing entirely.
If all the rumored phones surrounding the iPhone 18 drop between late 2026 and early 2027 we’ll see six new iPhones. And while that definitely gives buyers more options to choose from, it could also clutter the market and confuse people altogether.
For now, the whole lineup of iPhone 17s should land on schedule in fall of 2025.
