iPhone 18 Pro South Africa Launch: When to Expect It in 2026

The iPhone 18 Pro could launch in South Africa in October 2026 if recent, widely covered leaks prove true. This is thanks to efforts from iStore South Africa, which has worked to make the local market a “wave one” market. This means that South Africans only have to wait a week or two before the latest iPhone devices make it here. Fresh leaks tell that the upcoming iPhone 18 series, especially the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and Apple’s first foldable smartphone, could all launch in September 2026. This means that South Africans could see these latest devices on shelves from as early as late September, if not October 2026, thanks to recent efforts from iStore South Africa. iStore, Apple’s only official reseller in the country, confirmed to Hypertext last year that the local market is a “wave one” market, meaning it is one of the first in the world to receive Apple’s latest devices. Apple launched the iPhone 17 series locally in September 2025, and it looks like its upcoming models will follow suit. The delay between Apple launching a product in the US and in South Africa is now down to just over one week, a change that iStore South Africa has worked towards for several years. “If you wind the clock back to ten, 15 years ago it was the opposite. You had to wait for months and months to get the latest technology. It’s great to see acknowledgement of Africa and it’s great that our customers are among the first people in the world to try it,” iStore CEO Chris Dodd told us early last year. As for the iPhone 18 series, the recent leak stems from analyst Jeff Pu from GF Securities and has been covered by many different publications, including Forbes and 9to5Mac. What fans in South Africa should expect from the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro Per Pu, the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and the iPhone Fold – Apple’s first foldable smartphone – will all see US launch dates of 26th September 2026. The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will feature 6.3″ and 6.9″ displays, respectively. Both will feature A20 Pro processes and N2 chips, with 12GB of DRAM. Camera-wise, we’re expecting 48MP rear main cameras, with 18MP front cameras. Both will feature Aluminium casings and Dynamic Island in terms of software features. As for the big change of the bunch, the iPhone Fold, the display is said to reach 7.8″ when unfolded, and 5.3″ when folded. This would make it relatively smaller than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7, which has an 8″ display when unfolded, and a 6.5″ display when folded. Under the cover, we’ll also see 12GB of DRAM and Apple’s A20 chipset, with its in-house model making it match the iPhone 18 Pro in all specs, including camera, except for its foldable screen, which is a disappointing, if expected, reveal if the leaks prove to be true. The only major differences will be that the iPhone Fold will have a casing made of both titanium and aluminium, and it will feature no Face ID capabilities, relying only on fingerprints or Touch ID. Finally, as for the base iPhone 18 model, that is reportedly only going to see a launch in 2027, alongside the iPhone 18e, as more affordable devices are being deprioritised by Apple.