Apple Staggers Iphone 18 Pro Rumors With Spring 2027 Delay
iphone 18 pro rumors now point to Apple splitting its next iPhone rollout across multiple dates, with the base iPhone 18 pushed to Spring 2027 and the iPhone Ultra held until late November. That changes which model gets the first holiday-quarter spotlight and pushes more buyers toward the Pro lineup by default.
John Ternus and the September event
Apple’s annual September iPhone launch will include the new iPhone 18 smartphones, and John Ternus will lead a massive media event. The company is expected to ship the iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and iPhone Ultra on different dates, which makes the lineup less like a single launch and more like a staged sales cycle.
Last year, the iPhone 17 was available at $799. The equivalent iPhone 18 will not arrive until the spring, so annual upgraders who usually buy the base model in the autumn will face a gap before Apple has its lower-priced option on shelves.
Spring 2027 for the base model
The delayed base model is expected to shift the product mix during the holiday quarter, and the average selling price in Q4 is expected to climb. Consumers committed to the annual upgrade cycle will be pushed toward the iPhone 18 Pro by default, while Apple wants a second launch and marketing push when the iPhone 18 is launched.
That spring release also places the iPhone 18 launch against new Android phones announced at March’s Mobile World Congress 2027. If the iPhone 18e is launched alongside it, Apple can pitch the iPhone 18 as the high-end consumer smartphone instead of the entry point.
Late November for iPhone Ultra
Apple is also delaying the retail release of the premium iPhone Ultra foldable until late November. The device is described as a $2,000 phone, and the extra two months of testing and iterating should reduce the risk of day-zero hardware faults.
The iPhone 18 Pro Max would get an uncontested two-month sales window without the iPhone Ultra, and Apple’s premium smartphone in the lineup would have a 6-8 week window before the foldable arrives. Pushing the foldable into November also positions it as a luxury holiday device rather than an early-autumn launch item.
The one open question is pricing for the spring iPhone 18, since Apple has only put a $799 tag on last year’s iPhone 17 and has not put a new price on the delayed model here.
