Any iPhone fan familiar with Apple’s launch schedule could easily predict this year’s iPhone 13 release date, assuming the iPhone maker can stick to its pre-pandemic launch cycle. The iPhone 12 series was delayed by a month last year, with Apple unveiling the phone in mid-October and launching two of the four versions a few weeks later. The remaining two devices need a few extra weeks to reach stores.
Several iPhone 13 rumors claimed that Apple is already taking steps to ensure enough supply of critical components to prevent launch delays this year. Apple will never address iPhone supply rumors, but if the information is accurate, then Apple might be able to launch the iPhone 13 on time this year. A new research note from Wedbush gives us the iPhone 13 launch date that any iPhone fan could guess: September 24th.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a research note on Monday (via Barrons) that the iPhone 13 announcement will likely drop in the third week of September without offering an actual date. A quick look at the calendar will tell us that Tuesday, September 14th, is the most likely day for the iPhone 13 keynote, assuming Ives’s speculation pans out. Apple usually holds the iPhone keynotes on Tuesdays.
A September 14th announcement event would be followed by preorders, which traditionally begin on the next Friday. That would be September 17th for the iPhone 13 series. The handsets would then ship to buyers a week later, on September 24th, the last Friday in September this year. That’s also the date when Apple retail stores and its partners would start selling the new handsets worldwide.
This unconfirmed iPhone 13 launch schedule would make plenty of sense for Apple in a regular yea. But the pandemic isn’t over, and it might still impact Apple’s plans or the year.
Apple is yet to announce anything. But the company did say last summer that the iPhone 12 launch would be postponed. Come Apple’s earnings report in July; we’ll know whether Apple plans to launch the iPhone 13 in September or whether the new phones will be delayed.
The Wedbush analyst said the iPhone 13 phones would come with a 1TB storage option, contradicting other reports that say that iPhone 13 storage will not surpass 512GB. Ives also said the 2021 iPhones would all feature LiDAR support, which will drive the adoption of more augmented reality apps.
The analyst said that Apple is targeting 130 million to 150 million iPhone 13 units for the second half of the year, with the iPhone 13 to account for 35% to 45% of the total iPhone third-quarter builds. Initial orders for the iPhone 13 are between 90 million to 100 million, up from the original estimate of 80 million for the iPhone 12. Overall, iPhone 12 sales outpaced everything in the industry, both when it comes to revenue and profits, giving Apple record quarters in December and March.
