A trusted leaker said a few days ago that Apple might hold the iPhone 14 launch press conference on September 6th. Or a week earlier than we thought. A different well-connected Apple insider said earlier this week that the iPhone 14 launch event will take place on September 7th. If these reports are accurate, we know the iPhone 14’s release date: September 16th.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman just revealed the September 7th announcement event date for the iPhone 14. He also mentioned the September 16th released date in his latest report:
The company usually releases the new iPhone in stores about a week and a half after it’s unveiled, and Apple is expected to stick to that pattern this year. Some retail store employees have been told to prepare for a major new product release on Sept. 16.
That’s the key to guessing the newest iPhone’s release date every year. All you need is the launch event date to get there. For the iPhone 14 series, it doesn’t matter if Apple launches it on September 6th or 7th. That’s a Tuesday or Wednesday, respectively.
Any iPhone fan used to preordering the handset online knows how the launch-preorder-release dance works.
Apple launches the new iPhones either on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. In this case, it appears to be a Wednesday, September 7th, given Gurman’s excellent track record at revealing Apple secrets.
Then, preorders start on the first Friday after the event. That’s September 9th. The release follows precisely a week after preorders. And that’s how we ended up with the September 16th release date for the iPhone 14.
Finally, Apple will ship preorders on that second Friday and start in-store sales worldwide.
Before these recent reports, we expected Apple to unveil the handset on iPhone 13 and then release it on September 23rd. If the September 7th date is accurate, Apple will get an additional week of iPhone 14 sales this quarter.
Apple should send press invites for the virtual event on Wednesday, August 31st. That’s exactly 7 days ahead of the iPhone 14 launch event.
More iPhone coverage: For more iPhone news, visit our iPhone 14 guide.
