Apple is all but certain to unveil the iPhone 15 line in just a few weeks’ time, but the company is yet to reveal when, exactly, its new phones will hit store shelves.
That said, we’re confident that Apple will be holding its annual product launch event sometime in September, where we expect to get our first official glimpse of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (which may yet be called the iPhone 15 Ultra).
Below, we’ve made our best guess at the iPhone 15 release date, using rumors and Apple’s existing track record of iPhone releases to inform our prediction.
When will the iPhone 15 be released?
Apple will announce the release date for the iPhone 15 at its annual iPhone launch event, which is typically held in September, but the company isn’t likely to share the official date for this year’s festivities until late August 2023.
However, using a combination of rumors and information from bygone Apple events, we can predict when this year’s Apple event might take place, and therefore when the iPhone 15 could hit shelves.
Long story short: we expect Apple’s September 2023 event to take place on either Tuesday, September 12 or Wednesday, September 13. Pre-orders for Apple’s new iPhones will likely begin a few days later on Friday, September 15, with shipping dates following another week later on Friday, September 22.
How did we get to those dates, you ask? Well, Apple generally picks the first or second week of September for its annual iPhone launches, and usually opts for a Tuesday, though occasionally the company goes for a Wednesday in weeks that coincide with Labor Day Monday in the United States.
The 2022 (read: iPhone 14) edition of Apple’s September event, for instance, fell on Wednesday, September 7, with three of the four iPhone 14 models announced at the time going on sale just over a week later, on September 16 (the iPhone 14 Plus became available on October 7).
In terms of this year’s event, a recent 9to5Mac report claims that Apple has asked employees to refrain from taking time off on Wednesday, September 13 in anticipation of a “major smartphone announcement,” and Bloomberg’s resident Apple expert, Mark Gurman, has also suggested that Apple will debut the iPhone 15 line in the second full week of September 2023.
Labor Day is happening on Monday, September 4 this year, so we’re inclined to think that Tuesday, September 12 is the most likely launch date for the iPhone 15 line. However, if 9to5Mac’s claim regarding employee time off is accurate, then Wednesday, September 13 is the more likely date.
Regardless, a launch in the second full week of September seems all but confirmed, at this point, meaning the iPhone 15 line will likely become available to pre-order on Friday, September 15, with shipping dates following another week later on Friday, September 22.
For context, these were the on-sale dates for Apple’s previous five iPhones:
As you can see, an on-sale date of Friday, September 22 for the iPhone 15 line would be in keeping with the general trend of previous iPhone launches (notwithstanding the iPhone 12 series, which suffered pandemic-induced delays).
It’s worth noting, however, that nothing is set in stone just yet. Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan – who correctly predicted that the iPhone 12 would be delayed in 2020 – recently suggested that the entire iPhone 15 line could be delayed until late October, owing to production hiccups regarding iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max displays, so we’d still take any iPhone 15 release date rumors with a pinch of salt.
That said, such a significant shipping delay would seriously scramble the company’s Q3 financials (an October release would come in Q4), so we expect Apple to stay the course for a September launch.
It’s also worth reiterating here that, although the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are shoo-ins for this year’s event, the iPhone 15 Pro Max may yet arrive as the iPhone 15 Ultra.
Most leakers now claim that Apple is saving its first Ultra-level iPhone for 2024 – meaning the iPhone 15 Pro Max will be the company’s most premium 2023 device – though there remains a chance that 2023 will still play host to a totally new iPhone category.
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