There are about two months left until Apple makes its annual iPhone announcement in September. However, this year is a little different. Rather than the entire iPhone lineup debuting at once, only the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the all-new foldable iPhone will launch this September. Here’s why:
The ever-growing iPhone lineup
Over the past few years, the annual iPhone lineup has gradually increased. Not too long ago, there were only three debuts a year: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. In 2020, the annual debut of the iPhone 12 mini increased to four, in 2022 the iPhone 12 mini was replaced by the iPhone 14 Plus, and now by the iPhone Air.
With the introduction of the iPhone 16e, the annual release cycle has increased to five models. With the introduction of iPhone Ultra, there will be six iPhone models per year. That’s a lot of phones, and it would be a very crowded stage if they all debuted at once.
Therefore, Apple decided to move to a split release schedule.
Two iPhone releases: Fall and Spring
The iPhone 18 lineup includes six models: iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone 18e, iPhone Air 2, and iPhone Ultra.
This split release schedule has a theme. Flagship products are available in the fall, low-end devices are available in the spring. So it would look like this:
- Fall 2026: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Ultra
- Spring 2027: iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, iPhone Air 2
When the iPhone lineup expanded to four devices, the fourth model never sold well at launch, whether it was the iPhone mini or the iPhone Plus. So Apple thought it was time to give an additional smartphone a different spotlight and make a definitive split.
However, there is a bit of a twist when it comes to iPhone 18. Apple is reportedly working on merging the manufacturing technology of the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e, which could significantly reduce the differentiation between the two phones.
It’s unclear if this means the iPhone 18e will be significantly better or if it means the iPhone 18 will be even worse, but the two phones may just diverge when it comes to display panels and cameras.
summary
All in all, assuming the iPhone Air doesn’t end up in the can (which I really hope it doesn’t), this will be the new iPhone lineup going forward. Three times in the fall and three more times in the spring. Ultimately, this is expected to allow Apple to better segment its launches and reach the right audiences.
This is also likely to increase the average selling price of the iPhone as people who want to buy into the launch hype will have no choice but to buy the iPhone 18 Pro instead of the cheaper model.
It remains to be seen whether splitting up the lineup will actually help all products sell better, but that’s a preliminary theory.
What do you think about Apple splitting iPhone releases? Will you buy one this fall or wait until spring? Let us know in the comments.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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