iPhone tipped for major launch shake-up in 2026 – here's when to expect the iPhone 18, iPhone Air 2, and more

• The iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, and foldable iPhone might land in September
• The iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2 could land around March of 2027
• The iPhone Air 2 might have better battery life but no extra cameras

We've got used to Apple releasing all the year’s new mainline iPhones every September, but that might not be the case anymore, as a major leak points to a launch timing shake-up, and details what to expect from the iPhone Air 2.

This new information comes from Apple tipster Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg, who has detailed what to expect from the iPhone line – and when – throughout 2026 and 2027.

And while Gurman only details the next 18 months or so of releases here, he claims that this new pattern will continue for “years to come”. So below, here’s a look at how Apple might be shaking things up.

September/fall 2026

According to Gurman (via Apple Insider), the next iPhones won’t land until ‘fall’ of 2026, which likely means September, since, as noted above, September is Apple’s usual release window.

That might not sound surprising, but while mainline iPhones typically launch around September, mid-range models like the SE line and the recent iPhone 16e tend to launch earlier in the year, around March. So we might not see any such launches in 2026.

As for what we’ll see in or around September, according to Gurman, you can expect the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, and probably the first foldable iPhone.

So, in other words, this September window is when Apple’s most premium models might launch. However, according to Gurman, that no longer includes the likes of the base model iPhone 18.

March/spring 2027

If you’re after the base model, then you’ll instead apparently have to wait until roughly six months later, so around March 2027, when the iPhone 18 is said to be launching alongside the mid-range iPhone 18e and “potentially” the iPhone Air 2.

With this approach, starting from 2027, the lower-end models would land in the first half of each year, with the higher-end ones launching in the second half.

And speaking of the iPhone Air 2, Gurman shed some more light on this handset in particular, claiming (via 9to5Mac) that it was never planned for a 2026 launch, so previous claims that it had been delayed were inaccurate.

Gurman also stated that the main upgrade on the iPhone Air 2 will be a new 2nm chipset, which should improve the battery life. We’d previously heard that this phone might have a second rear camera, but according to Gurman, that’s unlikely.

Finally, Gurman claimed that the iPhone Air exists partially as a prototype for the foldable iPhone, as that will apparently use “many of the same materials, miniaturization techniques, internal components, batteries, and software optimizations” as the iPhone Air.

So the fact that the iPhone Air reportedly isn’t selling brilliantly might not bother Apple too much if it exists in part just to help the company develop a foldable phone.

In any case, while we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt, Gurman does have a superb track record for Apple information, and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard talk of a release schedule shake-up, or of the iPhone Air being a test bed for some technologies the foldable iPhone will use.

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