Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max went on sale Friday, Sept. 18, beginning a retail rollout across more than 65 countries and regions. The first wave includes the United States, Australia, India, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and much of Europe, with 20 additional markets scheduled for Sept. 25.
At Apple Fifth Avenue in New York, MacRumors shared launch-day footage featuring Apple CEO John Ternus as customers and cameras gathered outside the store. Apple’s own launch-day update showed customers visiting stores in Kuala Lumpur as the new phones, Apple Watch models and AirPods 5 reached shelves.
The lines extended beyond Apple’s showcase stores. Gadgets Now reported that customers began queuing outside Apple Noida at 4 a.m., with one buyer flying from Ahmedabad and another driving overnight from Karnal to collect preordered phones. The outlet also noted that the Noida queue was shorter than last year’s, a useful check on reading too much into launch-day spectacle.
A pricier Pro launch
In the U.S., the iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the Pro Max at $1,299. Apple says the new models pair its A20 Pro chip with a vapor chamber, revised battery designs and a 48-megapixel main camera with variable aperture. They ship with iOS 27, while the company’s new Siri AI is rolling out in beta.
Crowds and social-media attention show that Apple’s annual launch can still command attention, but they are not the same as a global sales result. Apple has not disclosed opening-day unit sales, preorder totals or a year-over-year demand comparison for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup.
