Overview
- Apple held its September 9 keynote and confirmed pre-orders for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will open at 5 a.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, September 12, with first-wave availability beginning Friday, September 18 and a second wave around September 25.
- The company published local launch details for India, listing iPhone 18 Pro starting at Rs 1,64,900 and iPhone 18 Pro Max starting at Rs 1,79,900 with storage tiers from 256GB up to 2TB and four colours available.
- Reports and leaks say the Pro models use an A20 Pro chip built on a 2nm process and higher RAM to support on‑device AI, but constrained 2nm yields and tight DRAM/NAND capacity have limited early supply and raised component costs.
- Apple is prioritizing premium models for this autumn and is widely reported to have delayed the standard iPhone 18 to spring 2027, a move analysts say lets Apple allocate scarce parts to higher‑margin Pro SKUs.
- Industry forecasts and outlets flag likely price pressure for the new Pro line and that a rumored foldable iPhone, if announced, would be costly and very limited at first with some estimates above $2,000, though any foldable pricing and exact specifications remain unconfirmed.