Apple Event is set for September 9 at 1PM ET, and it will be the first major iPhone launch under John Ternus as CEO. The invite carried the tagline “Surprise and shine,” which puts the focus on what Apple chooses to show, not just when it shows it.
September 9 at Apple Park
Apple will hold the event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, with a livestream on Apple’s website. That gives customers and rivals the same tight window to watch for the first signs of Apple’s next iPhone line.
Ternus is set to take over from Tim Cook on September 1st, so the September 9 stage becomes his first major test in front of an iPhone audience. The timing matters because the event arrives with Apple’s leadership change already in place, not after it.
iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max
Apple is expected to refresh the Pro and Pro Max phones, which are likely to be called the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The reported setup points to iterative updates rather than a full redesign, so buyers watching for a dramatic hardware reset may not get one.
Apple may also finally announce the long-rumored foldable iPhone. That keeps attention on a device category Apple has not yet moved into publicly, while the company’s regular premium models appear closer to an update cycle than a reinvention.
iPhone 18 and the delay
Apple reportedly will not announce the base model iPhone 18 at the event and instead plans to introduce it next year. That leaves the September 9 lineup tilted toward the Pro and Pro Max tier, with the standard model pushed out of the launch spotlight.
Apple is also rumored to be launching an iPhone 18e and a second-generation iPhone Air in 2027. For now, the practical question is narrower: whether September 9 is the moment Apple shows a foldable iPhone, or whether it keeps that card back while it updates the Pro line first.
