Customers receiving an iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, an Apple Watch Series 12, or an Apple Watch Ultra 4 tomorrow will need to install a software update right away.
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max ship with iOS 27 variants with a 24A427 or 24A8428 version number. The launch version of iOS 27 is version 24A437, so if you're getting an iPhone 18 Pro, expect a software update during the setup process.
The Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 have watchOS 27 with a version number of 24R359, but the launch version of watchOS 27 is 24R364.
We're also expecting the AirPods 5 to have a day one firmware update, though that will happen over the air. Apple recently released 9A350 AirPods firmware to add support for iOS 27 features.
All of the new products are set to launch on Friday, September 18.
Saturday September 12, 2026 3:27 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
As noted by Nicolas Lellouche, who writes for the French tech website Numerama, Apple has updated its tech specs pages for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max to clarify which models are equipped with its new C2 cellular modem and where.
Apple now says the iPhone 18 Pro has a C2 modem worldwide, while the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses the chip in every country except for the U.S.
According...
Friday September 18, 2026 4:27 pm PDT by Juli Clover
The iPhone 18 Pro Max has a battery capacity over 20 watt-hours, which means there are additional shipping requirements. If an iPhone 18 Pro Max needs to be shipped somewhere, its maximum battery capacity has to be limited through firmware.
According to Apple, the iPhone 18 Pro Max uses an "innovative battery-firmware solution" that limits battery capacity to below 20Wh between when the...
Apple today confirmed that a "small number" of iPhone 18 Pro Max users on the AT&T network have experienced an issue that causes the device to lose cellular service, thereby preventing phone calls, text messages, and data from working. Thousands of users complained about the issue across the Apple Support Community and other platforms.
Apple said it released iOS 27.0.1 earlier this week and...
Whatever happened to the Apple Stores having these toolbox things to update the software without opening the box? Did that fall through?
I can answer this one. Apple employees are only required to update iPhones when there is a new version, not a new build number of the same main version. They could actually update them, there is nothing preventing them from doing it but there is too much work on the launch day to update each and every iPhone just because.
This happens every single year, nothing new was expecting this post
Yeah, weird article. How could there NOT be a day 1 update required when setting up the phone? It's not like the iOS 27 final release version was available when all these phones were originally manufactured. Of course there's an update required during setup.
Apple's first foldable iPhone, with a book-style design featuring a 5.4-inch outer display and a 7.6-inch inner display with a minimal crease down the middle.
