New Date Enters The Schedule
In just four weeks, all will be revealed about the iPhone 17 series. That’s because on Tuesday, Sept. 9, Apple will hold its keynote unveiling the new hardware, I believe. Now, a new date has been added to the mix. You can read the full schedule here and here in bullet points below.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro — here’s when iOS 26 will be available for it and other iPhones.
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Apple iPhone 17 Release Date: The New Entry In The Schedule
Mark Gurman’s Bloomberg Power On newsletter is always full of interesting nuggets. In the latest issue, he mentioned something that has so far been absent from release date schedules. Among all the talk of the keynote date, the onsale date and even the date for when the keynote date will be unveiled (all of which are below, with timings down to the minute), there has been scant talk of the release for iOS 26.
More than in recent years, the new software has captured the public’s imagination this year. Although iOS 26 will be pre-installed on the iPhone 17 series, it will also work on iPhones all the way back to the iPhone 11. So, when will it go on general release?
Gurman commented that the new software is “pretty smooth”, and has since said on X that the latest, sixth developer beta is “ridiculously snappy”. So much so that “it’s clear that we’re pretty close to the release of the final, public versions,” he said.
I believe it’s possible to pin the release down further than “the first half of September,” as Gurman comments.
Last year, iOS 18 went on general release on Monday, Sept. 16, exactly a week after the keynote and four days before the Friday, Sept. 20 onsale date of the iPhone 16 series.
I believe this year’s general release for iOS 26 will follow a near-identical schedule, and will be available from around 10 a.m. Pacific on either Monday, Sept. 15 or just possibly Tuesday, Sept. 16.
I favor the Monday because excitement in the new software is so high Apple will want it out as soon as it can, plus, it seems in good shape already.
iPhone 17 Release Date: The Full Schedule in Brief
As for the rest of the schedule, here’s a whistlestop guide (read about it all in more detail here).
Announcement of keynote: around 8 a.m Pacific, Tuesday, Aug. 26. Keynote: 10 a.m. Pacific, Tuesday, Sept. 9. Pre-orders open: 8 a.m. Pacific, Friday Sept. 12. Reviews appear: Tuesday, Sept. 16 or Wednesday, Sept. 17, likely 6 a.m. Pacific. Onsale date: Friday, Sept. 19 at 7.a.m. wherever you are.