In recent months, a growing number of sources have shared their thoughts on Apple’s iPhone 13 release date. Back in June, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives predicted Apple would unveil the iPhone 13 on the third week of September. Then, in July, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple would announce all four new models in September. This week, yet another iPhone release date leak surfaced, but as an added bonus, the source also claims to know when the AirPods 3 will come out. Apparently, we can expect both products before the end of next month.
iPhone 13 release date is September 17th?
On Wednesday, IT Home (via AppleInsider) published screenshots from an unknown ecommerce app. In the images, we see what appear to be the listings for the iPhone 13 and the AirPods 3. The listings reveal that Apple will launch the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max on September 17th. Additionally, they point to a September 30th launch for the AirPods 3.
There are a few important caveats worth making when it comes to this report. First and foremost, IT Home is not an especially reliable source for accurate Apple leaks. Again, these are screenshots taken from a social media post, not first-hand information. Second, if Apple does indeed reveal the iPhone 13 at some point during the third week of September, the iPhone 13 won’t be available in stores the same week. Typically, Apple hosts its big media events on Tuesdays. If the iPhone 13 event is coming the third week of September, it will be on September 14th. If that’s the case, we shouldn’t expect the new iPhone models to start shipping until Friday, September 24th.
Circling back around to the leak, there are two reasonable explanations for the dates on the listings. The first is that these are placeholders or just educated guesses, and we shouldn’t think twice about them. The other is that these are the dates when preorders for these products will begin. Either way, we still expect Apple to begin shipping the iPhone 13 to customers in September.
AirPods 3 could launch weeks later
But the reason that we’re talking about this sketchy leak is because of the AirPods. Recent reports have suggested that Apple will reveal the next-generation AirPods alongside the iPhone 13 this fall. The new AirPods 3 are expected to adopt a design similar to that of the AirPods Pro, complete with replaceable ear tips. That said, they will reportedly lack some of the premium features of the Pro model, such as Active Noise Cancellation. We should find out next month.
