We’re likely just a few weeks away from Apple’s big iPhone 13 reveal. This year, there won’t be any delays, considering Apple’s recent actions and what rumors are saying. Instead, Apple should launch the iPhone 13 series on time, with four new handsets supposedly hitting stores by late September. A brand new leak lists the phone’s preorder date, while others mention the release date and the expected keynote date. Separately a leak tells us the iPhone 13 might have slightly higher prices than the iPhone 12 series. And, unsurprisingly, there’s a brand new leak that tackles another important iPhone 13 detail: The name.
Several leaks this year claimed the iPhone 13 phones would be called iPhone 12s. It’s not just because the iPhone 13 handsets look a lot like the 2020 equivalents. More importantly, Apple would want to avoid the controversial “13” and move directly to an iPhone 14 next year. Even so, there was at least one leak earlier this year indicating that Apple would choose iPhone 13 as the name for this year’s iPhone series.
A Twitter user who has a history of posting Apple leaks retweeted an image that shows Apple’s alleged iPhone 13 branding.
This iPhone 13 name leak might settle it
DuanRui
found the following iPhone 13 packaging photo over on Weibo, bringing it to Twitter. The person goes out of their way to “emphasize” they’re not a leaker, which might seem like a strange thing to say when dealing with iPhone leaks. But Apple has been fighting an active war against leakers in recent months, looking to prevent its secrets from reaching the internet before announcements.
iPhone 13 🤔 source: https://t.co/INCk7dSbj9
Let me emphasize again that I am not a leaker. I don't have first-hand information. I just reprint some information that I have seen that I feel is relatively reliable. pic.twitter.com/Avy9ndDT4Q
— DuanRui (@duanrui1205) August 26, 2021
The photo does seem to show one of those seals that you break when unboxing a brand new Apple device for the first time. The paper seal is excellent news for the environment. What really matters here is the “iPhone 13” product name that appears printed on the retail package. It’s complete with the familiar “designed by Apple in California, assembled in China” message that appears on most of Apple’s products.
As with other iPhone 13 leaks, there’s no way to verify this leak at this time. We’ll have to wait for Apple to confirm it in a few weeks.
Why the iPhone 13 branding makes sense
There is a big reason why the iPhone 13 name choice makes sense for this particular iPhone series. This is Apple’s first iPhone since the 2017 iPhone X to feature a smaller notch. That is a big deal for Apple’s school of iPhone design. We’re used to the iPhone notch, and we understand its purpose.
However, we’ve witnessed plenty of notch alternatives on the other side of town that make the notch look bad. It started with hole-punch cameras that are the new normal for Android phones. Then, 2021 brought us more handsets with under-display cameras. The list includes the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the crazy Xiaomi Mix 4.
Apple would certainly want to mark the shrinking of the notch with an appropriate product name. iPhone 12s wouldn’t be enough to indicate there’s something special about the iPhone 13.
That said, Apple will eradicate the notch in the future. That’s according to various recent rumors. Several new Apple patent findings add even more weight to those reports, as Apple is actively researching technology that makes it possible to move Face ID and Touch ID under the hood.
