iPhone 16 release date: when can you buy these phones?
Key dates for every iPhone 16 model
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After months of anticipation theiPhone 16,iPhone 16 Plus,iPhone 16 Pro, andiPhone 16 Pro Maxhave all been announced, but you can’t actually buy them yet.
That said, we do now know when pre-orders will open, and when these phones are set to ship, so read on below for full details of these dates.
And if you’re not sure which iPhone 16 model to buy yet, head on over to ourhands-on iPhone 16 review, ourhands-on iPhone 16 Pro review, and ourhands-on iPhone 16 Pro Maxreview for our initial impressions.
iPhone 16 announcement date
The iPhone 16 series was announced atApple’s ‘Glowtime’ eventon Monday, September 9, at 10am PT/1pm ET/6pm BST, which was 3am September 10 AEST.
These phones were unveiled alongside other products, including theApple Watch 10and theAirPods 4.
What’s slightly surprising is that this was a Monday, asApplealmost always uses a Tuesday or Wednesday for these iPhone launch events.
iPhone 16 pre-order date
Apple is openingiPhone 16 pre-orderson Friday, September 13. That date is no surprise, as pre-orders typically open on the Friday of the announcement week.
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You’ll be able to place your order for any of the iPhone 16 models from 5:00am PDT / 8:00am ET / 1:00pm GMT on September 13, and we’d suggest setting an alarm for that time, as these are going to be very popular phones, so your shipping date might slip if you place your order much after that.
These are also expensive phones, but whether you buy direct through Apple or through select carriers you can get a trade-in rebate if you trade-in your old phone, which will help make your new iPhone more affordable.
Note also that while pre-orders aren’t open yet, you can already choose your iPhone 16 configuration on Apple’s site, and save it in your cart, so you’re ready to immediately check out on September 13.
iPhone 16 shipping date
The iPhone 16 series will ship starting from Friday, September 20, which is one week after pre-orders open. That’s exactly what we predicted, as Apple usually follows that pattern.
September 20 then is also when the phones will go on general sale, meaning you’ll in theory be able to get one immediately if you order it on or after September 20. Or simply be able to go into a shop and buy one.
In practice though, we’d expect that if you don’t put your pre-order in soon after they open, you may well be waiting beyond September 20 for your new iPhone to arrive.
These are sure to be very popular phones, and there can often be a backlog of orders, where Apple needs to produce more units before it can fulfil them all. So get your order in straight away on September 13 if you want to ensure the phone arrives on September 20.
Will all four iPhone 16 models ship at the same time?
The dates above apply to every iPhone 16 model, so whether you’re buying an iPhone 16, an iPhone 16 Plus, an iPhone 16 Pro, or an iPhone 16 Pro Max, pre-orders will open on September 13, and they’ll ship from September 20.
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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.
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