The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max reach stores and doorsteps on Friday, Sept. 18, after pre-orders opened Sept. 12. Apple’s first foldable, the iPhone Duo, is not part of today’s launch — its pre-orders don’t start until Oct. 16, with sales beginning Oct. 23.
What’s on sale today
The lineup is two Pro models: the 6.3-inch iPhone 18 Pro and the 6.9-inch iPhone 18 Pro Max. Apple did not announce a standard (non-Pro) iPhone 18 at its Sept. 9 event. Both come in black, silver, glacier and burgundy, run Apple’s new A20 Pro chip built on a 2-nanometer process, and ship with iOS 27.
Pricing, across all four storage tiers:
- iPhone 18 Pro: $1,199 (256GB), $1,399 (512GB), $1,799 (1TB), $2,399 (2TB) — or from $49.95 a month over 24 months.
- iPhone 18 Pro Max: $1,299 (256GB), $1,499 (512GB), $1,899 (1TB), $2,499 (2TB) — or from $54.12 a month.
Both starting prices are $100 higher than last year. Apple’s own 2025 newsroom pricing had the iPhone 17 Pro starting at $1,099 and the 17 Pro Max at $1,199 — this year’s models start at $1,199 and $1,299, respectively. Apple has not given a reason for the increase.
Getting one
Apple began marking early pre-orders as “Shipped” on Sept. 17, according to 9to5Mac. New online orders faced a longer wait: as of Sept. 14, MacRumors reported estimated delivery windows of Sept. 29-Oct. 6 for the iPhone 18 Pro across all colors and storage capacities, and Oct. 6-Oct. 13 for the Pro Max. Those estimates may have shifted since then.
Walking into an Apple Store may still work — MacRumors noted that in-store pickup may still be an option on launch day depending on availability. The first wave of availability covers more than 65 countries and regions, including the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, China, India and Japan; a second wave of 20 more countries joins on Sept. 25. Apple Watch Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 4 and AirPods 5 are also on sale today.
What actually changed vs. the iPhone 17 Pro
The headline camera upgrade is a 48-megapixel Fusion Main camera with variable aperture — Apple’s first use of that feature on an iPhone. The Dynamic Island is smaller and can now display three Live Activities at once. Apple also redesigned the phone’s internal vapor chamber for cooling. On battery, Apple claims up to 36 hours of video playback for the Pro (eSIM-only) and up to 45 hours for the Pro Max, compared with the 33 and 39 hours the company claimed for last year’s 17 Pro models — those are Apple’s own figures, not independently tested.
Should you upgrade?
Reviewers who’ve spent time with the phones are lukewarm on upgrading from last year’s model. Chance Miller at 9to5Mac wrote that “if you’re using the iPhone 17 Pro right now, there’s little reason to upgrade to the iPhone 18 Pro,” though he added that “if you’re using an iPhone 16 Pro or earlier, I’d say now’s a great time to make the leap.” He also flagged the Pro Max’s size, calling it “right at the edge of what I’m willing to carry.”
Engadget’s Cherlynn Low, who gave the phone a 9/10, framed it as part of a familiar Apple pattern: “S-year iPhones were never bad iPhones. They were simply unexciting.” On the price increase specifically, she wrote, “I don’t believe you’re getting more phone for the money.”
The iPhone Duo is coming, just not today
Apple’s first foldable iPhone starts at $1,999 for 256GB and rises to $3,199 for 2TB, or from $83.29 a month over 24 months; it comes in star white and night sky. It pairs a 7.6-inch inner display with a 5.4-inch outer display and runs the same A20 Pro chip as the Pro models. Pre-orders open Oct. 16, with sales starting Oct. 23 — five weeks after today’s Pro launch.
In Apple’s announcement, new CEO John Ternus, who took over the role Sept. 1, called it “the most transformational change to iPhone since the original.” The phone is not on sale until Oct. 23; some outlets have published hands-on impressions, but full reviews of retail units are still to come.
A supply-chain first for India
Some of today’s India-made iPhone 18 Pro units reportedly were flown out on chartered flights ahead of the launch, according to a Sept. 17 report from Business Today citing the Economic Times and unnamed sources. The flights are said to have departed mostly from Chennai; a Foxconn plant and a Tata Electronics factory both produce the Pro models in India. If accurate, this marks the first time India-made Pro units have been available from day one of a global iPhone launch rather than arriving after the initial wave. Business Today’s report did not specify flight counts or export volumes, and Plainly Now has not independently verified the claim.