Friday, Sept. 12, 5 a.m. Pacific TO BE CONFIRMED
Pre-orders will be confirmed at the keynote, and while the date seems certain, the timing could change. Last year, it was at 5 a.m. Pacific, that is 8 a.m. Eastern and 1 p.m. in the U.K.
A couple of years ago Apple added an extra wrinkle to the preorders procedure by allowing customers to log on the night before and choose the items they wanted, to place them in the shopping bag ready for Friday’s pre-orders going live. A simple way to be ready to go. I’ll report back if the same situation applies this time around.
Apple iPhone 17 Release Schedule: iOS 26 Release
Monday, Sept. 15, 10 a.m. Pacific TO BE CONFIRMED
This is the software that will work with the iPhone 17 series and all iPhones right back to iPhone 11.
If you’re not planning to buy a new iPhone just yet, this is arguably the most important date in the schedule. Of course, not all the new features that iOS 26 promises will work with every phone all the way back to the iPhone 11 series: Apple Intelligence only works with iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 16 series, plus this year’s offerings.
Apple iPhone 17 Release Schedule: Reviews Appear
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 6 a.m. Pacific TO BE CONFIRMED
Wednesday, Sept. 17 is also a possibility. However, Tuesday seems the most likely and in that case it’s likely Apple Watch reviews will appear on the Wednesday.
Apple iPhone 17 Release Schedule: Onsale Date
Friday, Sept. 19, 7 a.m. local time TO BE CONFIRMED
This is when the iPhone will actually reach customers, in store and from pre-ordered online delivery.
Since this is a local time deal, it means that customers in countries like New Zealand and Australia will see their iPhones first, while customers in California have a little longer to wait (though not as long as those in Hawaii).