One of this year’s hottest upcoming phone series is set to debut next month. Yes, it’s time for the iPhone 17, which is set to appear alongside the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. It’s also heavily rumored that there will be a super-thin iPhone 17 Air as well. Like the Galaxy S25 Edge, that will likely have a smaller battery but sleek finish.
You can read more about the iPhone 17 rumors in our dedicated piece – but when will it actually be out? Everything mentioned below is based on my experience of Apple’s previous iPhone launches, though I think could easily change between now and launch. I’ll obviously update this with official info as soon as I get it, which will likely be at the very end of August.
When is the iPhone 17 release date?
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro were introduced to the world on September 9 2024. You could pre-order both phones on Friday September 13 and they were then fully available on Friday September 20. Even though the 2024 launch was held on a Monday instead of Apple’s preferred Tuesday, the firm stuck to its usual pattern of a pre-order on the next Friday and availability the following Friday.
I do wonder if the Monday date was chosen simply because it enabled Apple to dominate the whole of the week’s tech news cycle, but there may have been a more practical reason, of course.
So looking at the calendar, that means I expect the iPhone 17 to be revealed on Monday 8 or Tuesday 9 of September (I think it’s most likely to take place on the Tuesday). That means pre-orders would on Friday 12 with general iPhone 17 availability on September 19.
While 2024’s Monday reveal was out of the ordinary, it wasn’t the first Apple event that broke with tradition. 2022’s iPhone 14 launch took place on a Wednesday and was a week earlier than usual. In 2020 the global situation meant later availability for some handsets. And going back to 2017, the fresh-start iPhone X didn’t make it out the gate until November 2017.
How much will the iPhone 17 cost?
Apple tries to avoid year-on-year price increases for its phone range, instead waiting several generations before demanding a little extra cash. While UK customers saw considerable price hikes for the iPhone 14 generation, US shoppers have largely paid the same for several years now. The iPhone 15 Pro Max was the exception, costing an additional $100/£100 while the other models stayed the same.
In the US, iPhone 16 prices start at $799 and the iPhone 16 Plus costs $899. The The iPhone 16 Pro begins at $999, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199. In the UK, it’s £799 upwards for the iPhone 16 and £899 for the iPhone 16 Plus variant. The iPhone 16 Pro prices start at £999, while the iPhone 16 Pro Max begins at £1,199.
Until Apple makes the iPhone 17 generation official, it’s tough to say whether these prices will hold firm for another year.
When has the iPhone launch taken place in the past?
The original iPhone came out in January 2007 (though the UK launch was towards the end of that year) with some launches taking place in June and even October after that. But since the iPhone 5, things have settled in the September slot.
The exception to this was in 2020, when the delay to the iPhone 12 lineup was caused by the global slowdown in production due to the pandemic. The iPhone 13 series returned to normal and the iPhone 14 launch was earlier than the launch 12 months before it.
- iPhone 5 – 12 September 2012
- iPhone 5S / 5C – 10 September 2013
- iPhone 6 / 6 Plus – 9 September 2014
- iPhone 6S / 6S Plus – 9 September 2015
- iPhone 7 / 7 Plus – 7 September 2016
- iPhone 8 / 8 Plus / X – 12 September 2017
- iPhone XS / XS Max / XR – 12 September 2018
- iPhone 11 – 10 September 10 2019
- iPhone 12 – 13 October 13 2020 (later due to manufacturing delays with the pandemic)
- iPhone 13 – 14 September 2021
- iPhone 14 – 7 September 2022
- iPhone 15 – 12 September 2023
- iPhone 16 – 9 September 2024
- iPhone 17 – 9 September 2025 (predicted)