Apple Phone 16, iPhone 16 Pro Release Date Schedule: Your Complete Countdown

Updated September 2 with analysis of what “It’s Glowtime” means in relation to what will be revealed at the keynote.

The iPhone 16 series, that is, the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, are almost here. Here’s your complete guide to what, I believe, will happen when, before Apple confirms stuff. One of the key questions about what’s being revealed (and actually, when it will be released) is exactly what Apple means with the tagline “It’s Glowtime.”

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has offered two answers already. First, posting on X, Gurman says the glowing colors on the invite are “a clear nod to the new Siri UI for Apple Intelligence – which will obviously be available on all new iPhone models and a key selling point.”

ForbesApple iPhone 16 And iPhone 16 Plus: Everything We Know So FarBy David Phelan

This makes sense: one of the most highlighted changes coming to iOS 18 is the complete redesign and upgrade of Siri. Instead of a small greenish glowing ball at the base of the iPhone screen when you invoke the name of the virtual assistant, in iOS 18, on models compatible with Apple Intelligence, Siri shows up as a glowing edge all around the display. It looks great and it uses exactly the colors shown on the Apple invite.

And while you can test this in the public beta of iOS 18.1 on an iPhone 15 Pro, for instance, in the next generation of iPhones it will be on every phone in the series.

Gurman also says there’s another meaning, as “Glow is the codename of macOS Sequoia. All signs point to the new macOS being released alongside, or around the same time, as iOS 18, which will get its release date announced at the event.” Gurman says this meaning is unintentional.

What’s interesting is that macOS releases usually come a few weeks after iOS and iPadOS. Gurman may be right here but I’d think it’s more likely that macOS Sequoia will arrive when iOS 18.1 is launched, but we’ll see. Gurman is right, though, that the release date for the software will be announced at the keynote—though it’s also detailed below.

Beyond the Glowtime conundrum, a new report claims that one element in the upcoming schedule is changing this year: the date that pre-orders will open.

Instead of the iPhone 16 series going on pre-sale on Friday, September 13, this year it will be Thursday, September 12, according to German site Macerkopf. It’s not clear what the logic for this is.

We can rule out superstition for launching on Friday the 13^th: Apple has often said it’s not superstitious and even named a phone the iPhone 13 to prove it.

And the fact that the keynote is a day earlier than many expected is hardly reason enough.

But I think there is reason to trust the site in one respect: last year there was an option to select the iPhone you wanted online the day before pre-orders began. It worked like this: you could choose the iPhone you want until 9 p.m. Pacific the night before, selecting the model and leaving it in the online shopping bag, ready to click the buy button the moment pre-orders begin. This was a neat way to jump the line. I would strongly expect Apple to do the same thing this year.

Which means the pre-orders will still begin on Friday, September 13, but you can get things sorted the night before in readiness for this.

Apart from that, the release of the iPhone follows a clear process, beginning with Apple announcing the keynote and ending with the iPhones reaching consumers’ hands.

This post will be updated the moment things happen (and you can check how right or wrong I was).

1. Apple Sends Out Official Invites To The Special Event

This happened on Monday, August 26 and it confirmed the date and time when the new products will be unveiled for the first time.

CONFIRMED!

2. The Apple Special Event

We knew on the day the invites went out that the event will be in the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, on Monday, September 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Humble brag: I guessed that the event would be on the Monday, when everyone else thought it would be Tuesday, September 10. Check my reasons here. Forgive me for crowing, it may be the last time I get the scoop on something like this.

CONFIRMED!

3. Pre-Orders Begin

This date is usually regular. It routinely falls on the Friday one week before onsale date, the week after the keynote. This year that would mean Friday, September 15. The time is subject to change but last year it started at 5 a.m. Pacific, that is 8 a.m. Eastern and 1 p.m. in the U.K.

4. Apple releases iOS 18

This often happens in the same week as the keynote but my bet is that it’ll be the following Monday, that is, September 16 at around 10 a.m. Pacific, 1 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. U.K.

If your iPhone can run iOS 17, then it will be able to run iOS 18, too—the compatibility list is identical and reaches back to the iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max and iPhone Xr.

5. iPhone Reviews Appear

This will be early in the week after the keynote, I predict, on a separate day from Apple Watch reviews. Select press will be seeded the iPhones from soon after the special event, and reviews could appear on Tuesday, September 17 or Wednesday 18 from 6 a.m. Pacific, 9 a.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. U.K., though this timing can change.

6. Apple iPhone 16, Apple iPhone 16 Pro Go On Sale

Almost without exception, Apple puts the iPhones on sale on the Friday in the week after the keynote. Everything is rumored to be bang on time this year, so I believe that means Friday, September 20. The time is usually early morning local time, so 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. wherever you are.

And after that, we start girding ourselves for the iPhone 17 release! Please check back—I’ll update this post to confirm or correct as everything is revealed.

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