Technologies

We Know When the iPhone 17 Will Be Announced, but When Can You Get It? Our Best Estimates

Apple’s fairly consistent release schedule points to the most likely date when you can get an iPhone 17 in your hands.

After months of tracking leaks and speculation, we now have a solid date for when the iPhone 17 will be announced. Apple sent out invitations — once again with an enigmatic design that raises even more questions — for its fall event, which is happening Sept. 9. Although it’s entirely possible that the secretive company could pull a head-fake and not announce a new flagship iPhone lineup, that’s about as likely as catching Taylor Swift riding a giraffe.

But we don’t know everything yet. Once the rumored iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, Pro and Pro Max are actually revealed, we’ll be able to confirm speculation about colors, display, cameras and more. We’ll also learn how much the new iPhone will cost, which is also still up in the air, thanks in part to constantly changing tariffs.

Read more: Should You Buy an iPhone 16 or Wait for the iPhone 17?

Exact dates for the preorder and release of the iPhone 17 are still the subject of speculation.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

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When will the iPhone 17 be released?

For nearly a decade, Apple has announced its new iPhone lineup in early September. The only exception was in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when the release was pushed back to Oct. 23 for the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, and Nov. 13 for the iPhone 12 Mini and 12 Pro Max.

A supposed leak reported on by German site iPhone-Ticker lines up with expert opinion, and we cannot verify these dates because we don’t have access to the internal documents iPhone-Ticker is sourcing. But if these leaks are true, they suggest that preorders for the iPhone 17 will begin on Sept. 12, with a Sept. 19 release.

Here’s a chart for the release dates of previous iPhone models:

Previous iPhone release dates

iPhone series	Announcement	Preorder	Release
iPhone 16E	Feb. 19, 2025	Feb. 21, 2025	Feb. 28, 2025
iPhone 16 series	Sept. 9, 2024	Sept. 13, 2024	Sept. 20, 2024
iPhone 15 series	Sept. 12, 2023	Sept. 15, 2023	Sept. 22, 2023
iPhone 14 series	Sept. 7, 2022	Sept. 9, 2022	Sept. 16, 2022
iPhone 14 Plus	Sept. 7, 2022	Sept. 9, 2022	Oct. 7, 2022
iPhone SE	March 8, 2022	March 11, 2022	March 18, 2022
iPhone 13 series	Sept. 14, 2021	Sept. 17, 2021	Sept. 24, 2021

To see this year’s dates in the same chart format (because some of us prefer an easy-to-read chart), the schedule looks like this. The preorder and release are not official dates from Apple:

Potential iPhone 17 schedule

Announcement	Preorder	Release
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 10 a.m. PT	Friday, Sept. 12	Friday, Sept. 19

Will all of the new iPhones be released in the fall?

Based on last year’s release, Apple may release everything in the fall except its least expensive option — this year, the iPhone 17E. The iPhone 16E was released in February, and Apple is widely expected to follow the same format for the rumored iPhone 17E.

That would mean the iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Air and the iPhone 17 base model — if that’s the lineup — would be released in September. The iPhone 17E — if it exists — would be released in February.

Apple’s future iPhone release dates

Apple is expected to change its release format with the rumored iPhone 18. Reports suggest that Apple will only release higher-end models in fall 2026 — iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, Air and a rumored new foldable iPhone — and release the rest of the line in winter 2027.

Why does Apple split iPhone release dates?

By pushing its top-of-the-line Pro and Pro Max models in September, Apple can capture much of the holiday shopping season. Releasing the more basic models in the winter allows a second crest of excitement, but diehard fans and holiday shoppers will have already spent their money on the pricier models in the fall.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Feb. 21

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 21.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s the long Saturday version, and some of the clues are stumpers. I was really thrown by 10-Across. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: «Jersey Shore» channel
Answer: MTV

4A clue: «___ Knows» (rhyming ad slogan)
Answer: LOWES

6A clue: Second-best-selling female musician of all time, behind Taylor Swift
Answer: MADONNA

8A clue: Whiskey grain
Answer: RYE

9A clue: Dreaded workday: Abbr.
Answer: MON

10A clue: Backfiring blunder, in modern lingo
Answer: SELFOWN

12A clue: Lengthy sheet for a complicated board game, perhaps
Answer: RULES

13A clue: Subtle «Yes»
Answer: NOD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: In which high schoolers might role-play as ambassadors
Answer: MODELUN

2D clue: This clue number
Answer: TWO

3D clue: Paid via app, perhaps
Answer: VENMOED

4D clue: Coat of paint
Answer: LAYER

5D clue: Falls in winter, say
Answer: SNOWS

6D clue: Married title
Answer: MRS

7D clue: ___ Arbor, Mich.
Answer: ANN

11D clue: Woman in Progressive ads
Answer: FLO

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 21, #516

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 21, No. 516.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. I actually thought the purple category, usually the most difficult, was the easiest of the four. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Old Line State.

Green group hint: Hoops legend.

Blue group hint: Robert Redford movie.

Purple group hint: Vroom-vroom.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Maryland teams.

Green group: Shaquille O’Neal nicknames.

Blue group: Associated with «The Natural.»

Purple group: Sports that have a driver.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Maryland teams. The four answers are Midshipmen, Orioles, Ravens and Terrapins.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Shaquille O’Neal nicknames. The four answers are Big Aristotle, Diesel, Shaq and Superman.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with «The Natural.» The four answers are baseball, Hobbs, Knights and Wonderboy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is sports that have a driver. The four answers are bobsled, F1, golf and water polo.

Technologies

Wisconsin Reverses Decision to Ban VPNs in Age-Verification Bill

The law would have required websites to block VPN users from accessing «harmful material.»

Following a wave of criticism, Wisconsin lawmakers have decided not to include a ban on VPN services in their age-verification law, making its way through the state legislature.

Wisconsin Senate Bill 130 (and its sister Assembly Bill 105), introduced in March 2025, aims to prohibit businesses from «publishing or distributing material harmful to minors» unless there is a reasonable «method to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the website.»

One provision would have required businesses to bar people from accessing their sites via «a virtual private network system or virtual private network provider.»

A VPN lets you access the internet via an encrypted connection, enabling you to bypass firewalls and unblock geographically restricted websites and streaming content. While using a VPN, your IP address and physical location are masked, and your internet service provider doesn’t know which websites you visit.

Wisconsin state Sen. Van Wanggaard moved to delete that provision in the legislation, thereby releasing VPNs from any liability. The state assembly agreed to remove the VPN ban, and the bill now awaits Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s signature.

Rindala Alajaji, associate director of state affairs at the digital freedom nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, says Wisconsin’s U-turn is «great news.»

«This shows the power of public advocacy and pushback,» Alajaji says. «Politicians heard the VPN users who shared their worries and fears, and the experts who explained how the ban wouldn’t work.»

Earlier this week, the EFF had written an open letter arguing that the draft laws did not «meaningfully advance the goal of keeping young people safe online.» The EFF said that blocking VPNs would harm many groups that rely on that software for private and secure internet connections, including «businesses, universities, journalists and ordinary citizens,» and that «many law enforcement professionals, veterans and small business owners rely on VPNs to safely use the internet.»

VPNs can also help you get around age-verification laws — for instance, if you live in a state or country that requires age verification to access certain material, you can use a VPN to make it look like you live elsewhere, thereby gaining access to that material. As age-restriction laws increase around the US, VPN use has also increased. However, many people are using free VPNs, which are fertile ground for cybercriminals.

In its letter to Wisconsin lawmakers prior to the reversal, the EFF argued that it is «unworkable» to require websites to block VPN users from accessing adult content. The EFF said such sites cannot «reliably determine» where a VPN customer lives — it could be any US state or even other countries.

«As a result, covered websites would face an impossible choice: either block all VPN users everywhere, disrupting access for millions of people nationwide, or cease offering services in Wisconsin altogether,» the EFF wrote.

Wisconsin is not the only state to consider VPN bans to prevent access to adult material. Last year, Michigan introduced the Anticorruption of Public Morals Act, which would ban all use of VPNs. If passed, it would force ISPs to detect and block VPN usage and also ban the sale of VPNs in the state. Fines could reach $500,000.