Apple’s next-generation iPhone is one of the most hotly-anticipated mobile devices of all time, and now we may finally know when we’ll get to see it in the flesh. Longtime French Apple news site Mac4Ever claims its carrier sources have pointed to September 12th as the date of the launch event, where Apple is expected to debut a trio of new phones — the iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus, and iPhone 8 (or iPhone Pro, or iPhone Unicorn Frappuccino, or whatever).
Apple has made a habit of debuting new iPhones in September, with retail launches that follow very closely behind, so if Apple does indeed schedule its reveal event for the 12th, we can expect the phones to be available for pre-order a few days later. If the prediction holds water, the next-gen iPhones should be available by the following week — that is, unless the myriad of issues surrounding production delays doesn’t put a damper on the whole affair.
While we can’t yet say with utter certainty that September 12th is the date that Apple is planning for, it falls within the expected timeframe that the company has established over the years. September has indeed been the magic month, historically speaking. The iPhone 7 debuted on September 7th, so it was expected that this year’s event would fall on either the 5th/6th, or 12th/13th.
We’re certainly excited to see what upgrades Apple has managed to cram into the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus — especially since the rumor mill has been so focused on the iPhone 8 that we’ve heard comparatively little about those devices — but the real star of the show will undoubtedly be the mythical “unicorn” iPhone.
Will it have a true edge-to-edge display? Has Apple found a way to tuck Touch ID under the screen or on the back, or will it be gone altogether? Will the already maligned “notch” in the screen cause the tech journalists in the crowd to vomit into their laps? Have Apple’s manufacturing partners managed to build more than a half dozen of the phones in time for pre-orders? We won’t have to wait much longer to find out.
