The latest iPhones were announced on Sept. 9 and two of the three, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, went on sale on Sept. 18. However, the most talked-about model has yet to launch. So you don’t miss out on when to pre-order, when to check the reviews and when to buy, here are the latest details of what’s coming when.

Apple iPhone Duo: Pre-Orders Latest Details

If you’re planning to buy the new iPhone, you probably need to move fast. The combination of exceptional interest and rumors that the supply will be restricted initially means that pre-orders are likely to be busy.

Pre-orders open at the same time wherever you are, and Apple has confirmed this will be on Friday, Oct. 16. The company’s preferred time to go live is 5 a.m. Pacific. That’s 8 a.m. Eastern and 1 p.m. in the U.K. BST (British Summer Time), which is still in play on the date.

Apple iPhone Duo: First Reviews

Apple will seed review units to select press in the run-up to the phone going on sale. It’s not clear when this will happen but is likely to be a week or so before the phone goes on sale. This is when we’ll learn if there’s any change to the invisible crease in the users’ first few days (though Apple seems bullish about this ).

Reviews will then appear at some point in the week of the iPhone Duo’s release. While I’m certain it won’t be before pre-orders begin, I don’t know exactly which day will be the big day.

I think it’s near-certain to be Tuesday, Oct. 20 or Wednesday, Oct. 21. The iPhone 18 Pro reviews appeared on the Wednesday before release but it is likely that the Wednesday was chosen to maximize the time critics had with the new models, given that the keynote was on a Wednesday, not the more conventional Tuesday.

As such, I think Apple will want to get the Duo into journalists’ hands earlier if it can, to allow the interest-generating reviews to appear on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The embargo for reviews usually lifts at the same time of day as pre-orders open, that is, 5 a.m. Pacific, 8 a.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. BST. It means that readers on the west coast of the U.S. can read reviews from around the world from very early in the day.

Readers in Sydney, Australia, however, will have to wait until as late as 11 p.m. that day to find out the initial responses, thanks to a combination of the time zones and the Daylight Saving Time which kicks in for the eastern states in Oz on Oct. 4.

Apple iPhone Duo On-Sale Date

Apple has confirmed this date at Friday, Oct 23. It the company follows recent precedent, Apple Store openings will be at 8 a.m. local time, meaning that unlike those Sydneysiders staying up late to read reviews, they’ll be able to go to their local Apple Store many hours before Los Angelenos will be awake.

Now read about the next expected iPhone update and Apple’s new London music venue.