Apple announced iOS 26 at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, and the tech giant has since released multiple beta versions of the software. Those versions bring new features, like a Liquid Glass design, call screening, new ringtones and more, to the iPhones of developers and beta testers. You can expect many of those capabilities to land on your iPhone within the next few weeks.
Apple said it will release the update to the general public this fall, which is good but not the most helpful timeframe. But if we look at past Apple events in September and earlier iOS releases, a pattern emerges. Apple usually releases iOS versions a few days after the company’s September event and we should expect that to hold this year.
Apple is historically tight-lipped about new products and releases but I was right about iOS 18’s release in 2024 and iOS 17’s release in 2023, so let’s see if I can keep this streak going. Here’s when I think the tech company will release iOS 26 — I don’t think we don’t have much longer to wait.
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When is Apple’s September event?
iOS 26 will introduce a new Liquid Glass design to your iPhone.
Apple will hold its “Awe Dropping” event on Tuesday, Sept. 9, the same day I predicted the company would. In the past 10 years, Apple has only held its September event between Sept. 7 and 14, usually on Tuesday (six times), with a few Wednesdays (thrice) and one Monday.
We don’t usually have to wait long after Apple’s September event for iOS updates to be released.
Why will Apple release iOS 26 shortly after the event?
Apple doesn’t usually announce the release of iOS versions, but it does stick close to a script from year to year.
After most of Apple’s September events, the company releases the next iOS within a week. In 2024, for example, Apple’s event was held on Sept. 9 and iOS 18 was released seven days later on Sept. 16. And in 2023 Apple’s event was held on Sept. 12 and it released iOS 17 six days later on Sept. 18.
There’s only been one year in the past decade where it took longer than a week for Apple to release the next iOS version — 2019. Even then, Apple still released the next iOS version nine days after its September event.
The number of days between Apple’s September event and the release of the next iOS version has also trended — slightly — downward in the past decade. In 2015, Apple released iOS 9 on Sept. 16, seven days after the company’s September event, and in 2022 Apple released iOS 16 on Sept. 12, five days after the company’s Sept. 7 event.
In that same timeframe, Apple released six iOS versions within a week of the event. So I’m predicting Apple will release iOS 26 six or seven days after its Sept. 9 event.
Apple has also released the past four iOS versions on the Monday following its September events. So this could be the new norm and Apple will release all future iOS versions on the Monday after its September event. So it’s most likely that Apple will release iOS 26 on a Monday.
Watch this: iPhone Air Is a Wild Card – and Starts a Big Change for Apple
Great, so what date will Apple release iOS 26?
I predict Apple will release iOS 26 on the Monday, Sept. 15, the week after its Sept. 9 event.
For more on iOS 26, here are my first impressions of the beta, how to enable call screening in the beta and all the new features Apple said it will bring to your device later this year. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.
