At Apple’s June keynote event, the company announced iOS 17, the next version of the iPhone operating system. The software is expected to include new features such as standby mode and improvements to apps like Messages when it is released to the general public. But so far the tech giant has only said the update will arrive in the fall, which doesn’t help.
However, looking at previous Apple events in September and previous iOS releases, a pattern emerges showing that we should expect Apple to release iOS 17 a few days after this year’s September event.
I don’t have a crystal ball, so I’ll have to deal with it.
I reached out to Apple about when it planned to hold its September event and when it planned to release iOS 17. The company didn’t respond, but this is when I think Apple will release iOS 17 based on what I see in my crystal ball. .
When is Apple’s September event?
On Tuesday, Apple said that this year September eventwhich the company dubbed ‘Wonderlust’ will take place on Tuesday, September 12 at 10 a.m. PT. This falls within Apple’s usual timeline of holding the event in mid-to-late September.
Why do you think iOS 17 will be released shortly after the event?
Apple may be secretive, but it’s also a bit predictable.
For more than a decade, Apple has consistently held events every June and September. The company may have other special events in March (see 2022) or October (see 2021), but the June and September events happen like clockwork every year.
And after most of Apple’s September events, the company released the next iOS the following week. For example, in 2018, the Apple event was held on September 12 (sound familiar?), and five days later, on September 17, iOS 12 was released.
There have been only three years in the last decade where Apple took longer than a week to release the next iOS version: 2019, 2014, and 2013. Even in those cases, Apple still released the next iOS version eight or nine days later out. its September event.
The number of days between Apple’s September event and the release of the next iOS version has also fallen over the past decade. In 2013, Apple released iOS 7 on September 18, eight days after the September 10 event, and last year Apple released iOS 16 on September 12, five days after the September 7 event.
So I suspect Apple will release iOS 17 five or six days after the event in September this year.
What days of the week were previous iOS versions released?
All iOS version updates have been released during the week for the last ten years. Apple released nine of the past ten iOS versions between Monday and Wednesday and one iOS version on Thursday. Apple hasn’t released an iOS version on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in the past decade.
Wednesday and Monday are popular days for Apple to release iOS versions, with four iOS versions released on Wednesday and three versions released on Monday. Apple also released two iOS versions on Tuesday. So it’s more likely that Apple will release iOS 17 on a Monday or Wednesday.
Look, just tell me when iOS 17 comes out
If Apple released iOS 17 five or six days after the September 12 corporate event, we would see the new OS on September 17 or 18.
How I looked when I wrote this story.
But historically, Apple doesn’t release iOS updates on weekends, and September 17 is a Sunday this year, so we can rule that day out.
It’s also historically more likely that Apple will release an iOS version on Monday, so I can say with confidence that Apple will likely release iOS 17 on Monday, September 18. You first heard it here.
To learn more about Apple, read which iOS 17 features I’m excited about and how to get the iOS 17 public beta now.