Apple may change its usual iPhone pre-order timeline this year, with reports suggesting iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max bookings could begin on September 12 instead of September 11. The delay is reportedly linked to the US remembrance day. The launch event is expected to introduce Pro models and Apple’s first foldable iPhone.

Apple is doing a lot of things differently this year. It is rumoured to be launching only the Pro models of the iPhone 18 series at the September 9 event's, a foldable iPhone is finally launching, and now the company is also changing its pre-order schedule timeline. Theusual iPhone pre-order timeline could see a rare shift this year, with a new report suggesting bookings for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup may open a day later than the company's typical Friday slot.

A Saturday start instead of Friday

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and its first foldable device, reportedly named the iPhone Ultra, at an event on September 9. Pre-orders traditionally follow two days later, which this year would fall on September 11. However, German publication Macwelt reports that Apple will hold off by a day and open pre-orders on September 12 instead, since September 11 marks a day of remembrance in the US.

The report also points to a possible change in timing. Rather than Apple's customary 5 am PT opening, pre-orders could begin at midnight PT on September 12, translating to roughly 12:30 pm IST for buyers in India. This isn't unprecedented. Apple followed a similar pattern in 2015, opening iPhone 6S pre-orders on a Saturday, September 12, right after 9/11 fell on a Friday that year.