iPhone 18 and Apple’s September Show: What to Expect from the Rumoured Foldable Era

Every year, as summer fades, the technology world turns its attention to a single stage, because Apple’s September keynote has become the most closely watched product launch on the planet, setting the tone for the entire smartphone industry.

The 2026 edition is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing in years, not because of a single headline feature, but because of persistent reports that Apple is finally ready to enter a category it has watched from the sidelines for a long time.

When the event is likely to happen

Although Apple has not officially confirmed a date, industry watchers widely expect the keynote to land on Wednesday, the ninth of September, a timing that would neatly avoid the American Labor Day holiday falling on the preceding Monday.

Following Apple’s well established pattern, the official invitations would then be expected to go out roughly two weeks beforehand, which points to late August as the moment the company finally makes its plans public and ends the guessing game.

If history is any guide, the keynote would be followed within days by pre-orders and then by devices reaching stores about a week later, meaning eager buyers could have the new hardware in their hands before the month is out.

The rumoured line-up

At the heart of the event, as always, sit the new iPhones, with reports pointing to a familiar pair of high-end models expected to be called the iPhone 18 Pro and the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max, both likely bringing the usual refinements to camera and performance.

The genuinely new story, however, is the persistent talk of Apple’s first ever foldable iPhone, a device rumoured to carry a distinct name such as iPhone Ultra, which would mark the company’s long awaited answer to years of foldable phones from its rivals.

A foldable from Apple would be significant far beyond its own sales, because the company has a long history of entering a category late and then reshaping it, so its take on the folding form factor could set expectations for the whole industry.

Why it matters

It is worth stressing that none of this is official until Apple itself takes the stage, and even the most reliable reports can be wrong on details such as names, prices and exact release dates, so a healthy dose of caution is always sensible.

Still, the sheer scale of the anticipation says a great deal about Apple’s enduring grip on the popular imagination, at a time when many argue that the smartphone has become a mature and even boring product with little left to surprise us.

Whether or not the foldable materialises exactly as rumoured, this year’s keynote feels like a genuine inflection point, and it will offer a revealing glimpse into how Apple intends to keep its most important product feeling fresh for years to come.