Friday September 18 is the days the stores open around the world for the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12, Ultra 4, and AirPods 5. In the USA 14 of the brand new iPhones will also be used to capture the Giants take on the Dodgers and broadcast live on Apple TV to subscribers in 60 countries.
Originally announced last month, Apple phones are being hidden in parts of the Major League Baseball (MLB) stadia that are just impossible to tuck traditional broadcast gear, including the pitch clock, behind the backstop, on a foul pole, and in both bullpens.
Since the game starts at 7:15pm on the West Coast today (3.15am tomorrow for British fans), it comes sometime after the first iPhones went on sale around the world.
Interestingly in the first market to open, Australia's Sydney, there was some sweary debate and general childishness over who was first, much to the entertainment of US tabloids like the New York Post.
The point is that it's a busy day for the iPhone – but it isn't stopping MLB getting them out on the field.
The iPhone 18 Pros will be used to shoot part of the Friday's Giants at Dodgers game. Eight of the 14 iPhones will be sending a live feed using a private T-Mobile 5G network.
This private network is at a different frequency to the 50,000 or so fans in the stadium, and makes the difference between reliable broadcast video and a connection at the mercy of thousands of other phone users nearby.
The upshot is that the iPhone's footage will be involved in the live coverage, not just a highlights package.
iPhones will get more involved too – essentially anything which was previously shot with a camera on a shoulder rig then transmitted via a broadcast truck can be shot using an iPhone. That means batting practice or the players receiving their instructions, even events in the dugouts.
An iPhone can fit in new places – like hanging on a foul pole for nine whole innings. The new 48-megapixel fusion camera boasts a variable aperture, as well as easier to access pro controls like white balance, which should make the process a little easier to cope with for longstanding broadcast engineers. That said, iPhones have been used before for live sports – the iPhone 17 (four of them, in fact) made an appearance at Fenway Park in September 2005 and that is described as the first by Apple.
Check out our guides to the best cases for the iPhone 18 Pro Max and the best cases for the iPhone 18 Pro
