When will the iPhone 15 launch and is now the best time to buy an iPhone?

The million dollar question. And the one everyone interested in Apple or considering buying a new iPhone asks around this time of year. If you are planning to replace your iPhone or move over from Android to iPhone, do not do it in the next couple of weeks.

Apple has always had a pretty typical release cycle when it comes to its iPhone. Well, it has for the last decade anyway. It may come as a surprise to some that the original iPhone and the four generations that followed it were all released for sale in June or July of their respective years from 2007. It wasn’t until the iPhone 4S that Apple switched to a fall release cycle.

The iPhone 4S was announced and released in October 2011, but it was the iPhone 5 that began the September tradition. Since 2012 therefore – if we ignore 2020 because that messes up the pattern and 2020 is a year most of us would like to forget – the iPhone models have been announced sometime in September. Typically it’s been the second week of the month, around 12 or 13 September, with the occasional earlier release and the occasional later release, but all within the 9th month of the year.

For 2022, the iPhone 14 models were announced slightly earlier than many expected – and what was rumoured, on 7 September. For the iPhone 15 models though, the current chatter – and that’s all it is at the moment because nothing is currently official – is 12 September. Rumours had initially claimed 13 September after 9to5Mac cited a number of sources claiming some network carriers had been told they couldn’t take the day off on 13 September. This led some to assume this would therefore be the date of the next iPhone launch. It’s far more likely the iPhone 15 event will take place the day before on 12 September though, as 13 September would then be a very busy day for networks with people likely enquiring about the new devices. It’s worth mentioning though that pre-orders are unlikely to start until the Friday of that week, which would be 15 September.

When will the iPhone 15 event happen?

For now, Apple hasn’t confirmed when the iPhone 15 event will take place, though we’d expect the announcement of the keynote and invites to go out to press around the end of August, and we will update this post once there has been official confirmation. In terms of what we can expect to launch at the rumoured September event, speculation includes the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max or iPhone 15 Pro Ultra. There’s also expected to be the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and there has been some talk on updated AirPods Pro with USB-C charging too. So a busy event all round.

We’ve got rumour round up features on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max that you read for all the latest on the upcoming devices. We also have a comparison feature speculating how the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro might differ based on the claims. For those interested in Apple Watch, we have you covered in our Apple Watch Series 9 rumour round up and Apple Watch Ultra 2 round up.

When is the best time to buy an iPhone?

The answer to this is definitely not August. That said, it depends on whether you are planning to trade your old phone in to go towards a new iPhone as you’ll get more for it before the new models are announced than you will after they are released. Still, we wouldn’t recommend buying a new iPhone now and instead wait until the new models have been revealed. Even if you don’t buy the latest model, older models will come down in price. It’s likely the iPhone 13 models will remain in the line up from Apple, alongside the iPhone 14 models and the iPhone 15 models. Usually, prices of older models drop by around $100 through Apple when the new models are announced, so even if you decide against the iPhone 15 models, you should still save a bit of money on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models if you wait until the end of September.