Apple opened preorders Saturday for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, the standard-bearers of a launch lineup that also includes the company's first folding phone, though that device won't reach customers for another six weeks.
Orders for the 18 Pro and Pro Max opened at 8 a.m. Eastern time, with the phones set to reach stores and doorsteps on September 18. The Pro starts at $1,199 for 256GB of storage, the Pro Max at $1,299, and both are available for the first time with up to 2TB of storage, matching a jump in file sizes from on-device AI features. MacRumors reported the phones will initially ship in 19 countries and territories, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China, with 20 additional markets following on September 25. iOS 27 arrives two days ahead of the hardware, on September 14.
Beyond storage, this year's Pro models carry Apple's first variable-aperture main camera, part of a three-lens system pairing 48-megapixel wide, ultrawide, and periscope telephoto sensors, along with a 2-nanometer A20 Pro chip Apple says is up to 15% faster than last year's processor, its own C2 modem, and a redesigned cooling system, according to Macworld's rundown of the September 9 event where the lineup was announced.
A foldable held to a later schedule
The bigger news from that event was the iPhone Duo, the company's first foldable handset, unveiled alongside the conventional Pro models but held to a separate, later schedule: preorders open October 16, with devices shipping October 23. Apple's newsroom announcement describes a device that opens like a book to a 7.6-inch inner display, with a 5.4-inch screen on the outside for use closed, built around a titanium hinge Apple says contains more than 100 components. Pricing starts at $1,999 for 256GB, roughly $100 above Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8.
The Duo's hardware includes a 48-megapixel main camera with zero shutter lag, an integrated 2x telephoto lens, the new A20 Pro chip, and a dual-battery system Apple rates at up to 31 hours of video on the inner display or 44 hours on the outer one. The company is also pitching software features unique to the hinge, including a mode called Duo Preview that shows a live camera feed on the outer screen and one called Kid Cue aimed at parents handing the open device to children.
"iPhone Duo is the most transformational change to iPhone since the original," said John Ternus, who became Apple's chief executive on September 1 after more than two decades in the company's hardware engineering ranks. Ternus said the design was meant to help owners "stay more immersive and productive" without carrying a separate tablet.
A late entry analysts say is well timed
Apple is arriving in foldables years after Samsung, Huawei, and a wave of Chinese manufacturers already built the category, but analysts said the timing may work in the company's favor rather than against it.
Apple is good at getting its timing right and entering the market when a product reaches a certain level of maturity.
Ben Wood, chief analyst, CCS Insight
Counterpoint Research projects Apple will capture roughly 25% of the global foldable smartphone market this year, trailing Samsung's expected 38% share but arriving well ahead of established rivals. The picture looks different in China, where Huawei alone controls close to 80% of the domestic foldable segment and where early consumer reaction to the Duo has focused more on price than on Apple's hinge engineering, according to CNBC's reporting from the market.
For now, the immediate test is a narrower one: whether buyers who preordered the 18 Pro and Pro Max this weekend are a prelude to stronger or weaker demand for the pricier, unproven foldable next month. Apple has not disclosed preorder volumes for either device, and its next scheduled update on iPhone sales will come on its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call.
