Just a few days ago, Apple announced the date for its annual Phone event: Wednesday, September 9, less than two weeks away. We’re expecting Apple to unveil its first-ever folding iPhone at the event, along with the iPhone 18 Pro and Apple Watch Series 12. But if you’re looking to buy one of them, you might have to wait longer than usual.
A reliable source has told Macwelt that pre-orders this year are not set to begin, as usual, on the Friday following the launch. Instead, Apple will open pre-orders a day later, on Saturday, September 12. The reason for this is that this year, September 11 falls on the Friday following the event, a day of remembrance and mourning in the U.S.
The time is also set to change, according to the source: While pre-orders usually begin at 5 am PT, Apple is reportedly opening up pre-sales at midnight PT on Saturday.
It wouldn’t be the first time Apple has moved pre-orders from Friday to the following Saturday: 11 years ago, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus weren’t available for pre-order until Saturday, September 12, 2015, for the same reason.
This preorder should apply to the iPhone 18 Pro, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, and any other surprises Apple has in store. However, if you’re looking to buy one of the foldable iPhone Ultras, reports claim that preorders might not begin until late September. A similar situation occurred in 2020, when the iPhone 12 Mini and the iPhone 12 Pro Max were launched later than the iPhone 12 and the iPhone 12 Pro due to the coronavirus pandemic. Apple also delayed the iPhone X in 2017 due to production issues with the next-gen handset.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and localized from German.
