Monday, September 14, is the release date for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27 and visionOS 27, all free updates. It is also the deadline for Apple’s opening merits brief in Apple Inc. v. Epic Games, Inc., No. 25-1311, at the US Supreme Court. The two events land on the same square of the calendar and are otherwise unconnected.
One is a software rollout Apple has promoted for months. The other is a court filing Apple has said nothing about publicly, and both are confirmed only because each sits on a public record: Apple’s own product pages for the first, the Supreme Court’s own docket for the second.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Software release | iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, all free, September 14 |
| Case name | Apple Inc. v. Epic Games, Inc. |
| Docket number | No. 25-1311 (Apple is the petitioner) |
| What is due September 14 | Apple’s opening merits brief |
| What cert was granted on | Question 1 only: the standard for a civil contempt sanction |
| Epic’s response brief due | November 13, 2026 |
| Apple’s stay request | Denied in August 2026; the existing injunction stays in force |
What actually ships Monday
iOS 27 runs on iPhone 11 and later, plus iPhone SE (2nd generation and later), and brings Siri AI in beta, English only at launch. iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27 and visionOS 27 arrive the same day on their own compatible devices. Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 do not reach stores until the following Friday, September 18, but watchOS 27 itself is dated to Monday for every eligible Apple Watch already in use.
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The case working its way through the Supreme Court
The docket history is public and dated at every step. Here is the record as the Supreme Court itself has published it.
| Date | Docket entry |
|---|---|
| Dec 11, 2025 | Ninth Circuit decision below |
| May 21, 2026 | Apple’s petition for certiorari filed |
| Jun 4, 2026 | Epic’s brief in opposition filed |
| Jun 30, 2026 | Petition granted, limited to Question 1 |
| Jul 22 to 23, 2026 | Merits-brief extensions granted: Apple to September 14, Epic to November 13 |
| Aug 12 to 13, 2026 | Apple’s stay application administratively stayed, then denied |
Question 1, and what it does not cover
Apple’s petition framed Question 1 as a circuit split over the standard for imposing a civil contempt sanction, and that is the only question the Court agreed to hear. It is not a review of the App Store’s antitrust merits, and it is not a review of whether Apple’s link-out rules themselves are lawful. The Ninth Circuit had already affirmed the district court on message screens and dynamic links inside apps, while holding that a total ban on commissions and on link restrictions went too far. A separate remand track is under way at the district court to decide what commission, if any, Apple may charge on purchases made through an outside link. The appeals court did not suggest a rate.
Why the App Store does not change Monday either way
Apple asked the Supreme Court to stay the underlying injunction while the appeal plays out. That request was denied in August, so the current link-out regime, the one already covered in our event recap and elsewhere, remains in force with or without Monday’s brief. Filing the brief moves the case forward; it does not pause or restart anything Apple already has to do under the existing order. With Epic’s response due November 13, argument itself falls into 2027, well after iPhone 18 Pro is already in customers’ hands.
What Apple has not said
- No public statement from Apple about the brief itself; everything above comes from the Supreme Court’s own docket.
- No argument date. With Epic’s brief due November 13, argument is a 2027 event at the earliest.
- No indication cert will be expanded beyond Question 1 to reach the App Store’s antitrust merits.
- No commission rate from the Ninth Circuit for the separate remand proceeding.
The next dated step in the case is Epic’s response brief, due November 13. The next dated step for the software is already public: iOS 27 becomes available Monday as a free update, with no time of day specified beyond Apple’s usual pattern.
