It’s almost certainly just a matter of weeks before Apple holds its biggest special event of the year, where it’s expected to reveal a slew of new products, including four new iPhones, two new Apple Watches and perhaps an iPad or two. So, when will it be, you ask. Here’s your answer.
It’s Going To Be September
No kidding, I hear you say. You’re right, it’s always September and has been since the iPhone 5 was launched in September 2012, with the single exception of 2020, when the world was knocked sideways by Covid. Even then, Apple was only a few weeks late, with the iPhone 12 series hitting shelves from October that year.
Unveil, Then Release
That’s the normal schedule, and it routinely means an announcement one day, followed by the release less than two weeks later. Often, it’s 11 days between announcement and onsale date, though this can vary, depending on what day of the week Apple unveils the hardware.
There’s no hint of delays for this year’s hardware, so September is the odds-on favorite. But when, exactly?
Tuesday Is Favorite For Special Events
This is usually because Apple likes to fly guests and press to its special events and if the announcement was on a Monday, staff or press would need to fly in on a Sunday, for instance. Of course, there were years when there was no live event, so this factor didn’t apply.
However, since Apple has adopted a hybrid event system for the last two years, where a live audience watches a largely recorded presentation, I’d say that’s what’s coming this September, so the Tuesday rule applies.
Unless The Week Begins With Labor Day
Yes, that’s the other wrinkle. Apple’s iPhone event in a non-Covid year is always—always!—in the first or second week of September. This year, that would mean Tuesday, September 5 or Tuesday, September 12. Except that Monday, September 4 is Labor Day. Apple doesn’t like flying staff or guess on a public holiday any more than it does a weekend, so September 5 is a no-go.
If it is that week, the event would be Wednesday, September 6, rather than the Tuesday. This would see the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max go on sale on Friday, September 15.
If it’s the following week, the announcement will take place on Tuesday, September 12, with the phones hitting stores on Friday, September 22.
So, Which Is It?
Yes, fair enough, you need to know. First, the time will be 10AM Pacific, as special events always now start at 10AM local time and I believe this one will be at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino.
As for the date, here’s the thing: last year, the smart money was on an announcement on Tuesday, September 13. Analysts, leakers, everyone thought it would be then. But a week or two before, the rumors changed. Apple was ready early, it seemed. And, indeed, the announcement was on Wednesday, September 7 (Labor Day fell on Monday, September 5) and the phones went on sale on Friday, September 16.
Analyst Jeff Pu claimed earlier in the year that the phones would go on sale on September 23. That’s a Saturday, and iPhones always hit retail on a Friday, so September 22 would be the date.
But I’m going to stick my neck out and say that Apple won’t wait the extra week unless it absolutely has to, but will instead hold its special event on September 6, with the iPhones going on sale on Friday, September 15.
Things are still fluid at this stage, of course, but either way, we only have weeks to wait.
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