The biggest tech event of the year is likely just several weeks away. In early September, Apple is expected to hold its annual event, where the company will preview its lineup of the upcoming iPhone 17 series. For people itching to buy a new iPhone, this event can’t arrive soon enough.
But when will Apple hold its 2025 iPhone 17 event? And what can we expect to see at it? Here’s what you need to know.
When is Apple’s 2025 iPhone 17 launch event?
Apple traditionally holds its annual iPhone launch event in early to mid-September. But the exact date usually remains a mystery until the last week of August, when Apple sends out its event invites to the press. Until those press events go out, no one knows exactly when Apple will hold its iPhone 17 event. However, the last few years of events give us some clues.
Apple’s 2024 iPhone launch event, which introduced the iPhone 16 series, was held on Monday, September 9. Its 2023 iPhone event was held on Tuesday, September 12. Its 2022 iPhone event was held on Wednesday, September 7. And its 2021 iPhone event was held on Tuesday, September 14.
The company is usually careful to avoid holding the event just a few days after Labor Day, as they want to give journalists the time they need to travel out to Cupertino after the holiday. Apple also generally avoids holding the iPhone event on a Thursday or Friday. Instead, they prefer doing so on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, so they can benefit from the intense media coverage of their new products for the remainder of the week.
Since Labor Day falls on Monday, September 1 this year, Apple is unlikely to hold the event on September 2 or 3. Given their preference to avoid events on Thursdays and Fridays, it’s likely that Apple will postpone the 2025 iPhone 17 event until the week of September 8–12.
But which day, exactly? Apple seems to most often prefer Tuesdays for its iPhone events, so my best educated guess is that Apple will hold the 2025 iPhone 17 launch event on Tuesday, September 9. But we won’t know for sure until the company sends out press invites next week.
Apple usually kicks off its iPhone event at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, and they’ll likely stick to that timetable this year, too.
What will Apple unveil at its 2025 iPhone event?
This year’s iPhone event may be more interesting than those of recent years because Apple is scheduled to introduce an entirely new iPhone. The company is expected to kill the iPhone Plus model currently in the iPhone family lineup and instead replace it with the new iPhone 17 Air (which might alternatively be called the iPhone 17 Slim). As the name suggests, the new iPhone is expected to be the thinnest iPhone ever.
In addition to the iPhone 17 Air/Slim, Apple is also expected to introduce updated versions of the iPhone, including the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
However, the speculator in me says Apple might also introduce something else along with the new iPhones: a name and numbering change.
Earlier this year, Apple announced it would renumber its myriad operating systems. The ones that ship this fall will all be labeled with a two-digit year designator. For example, instead of Apple debuting iOS 19 this fall, it will debut iOS 26—the number representing the year 2026 (similar to how cars introduced in 2025 are branded as 2026 models).
I think it’s possible Apple could also switch to a year numbering system for their phones. If that’s the case, we could see the iPhone 26, iPhone 26 Air/Slim, iPhone 26 Pro, and iPhone 26 Pro Max (or iPhone 26 Ultra).
But again, that’s just speculation. We’ll have to wait until next month’s iPhone event to know for sure.
