Apple’s new iPhones are set to arrive this September, but with a twist. Rather than launching on the second week of September as has happened in previous years, the new iPhones are now predicted to come earlier, according to a report from Max Weinbach, an often reliable source of Apple news. Apple also plans a pre-recorded iPhone 14 event as opposed to a live one, a further Bloomberg report states.
In his August PowerOn Newsletter, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says plans for a September iPhone launch are in full swing with the company already putting the pieces together internally. “I’m told that Apple has started to record and assemble its September media event, which is likely to take place in the first half of the month,” Gurman writes. The pre-recorded event could be a concession to the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to rage in parts of the world.
Weinbach also adds that Apple plans a September 6 launch, opening up its iPhones on the first week of the month rather than the second as it often does. As with Apple’s iPhone events, the company’s focus here is to be squarely fixed on the iPhone and its best accessory, the Apple Watch. This means there are no iPads or Macs expected to launch. The company could always announce a later event for October as it has done in previous years, with its new products going on sale to coincide with the holiday sales season.
Dates aside, as with last year, Apple is expected to release four iPhones, with two apiece under the ‘iPhone’ and ‘iPhone Pro’ line. These would be the iPhone 14 and 14 Max (replacing the Mini), while the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro fill up the high end. Apple reportedly expects this move to be a success, forecasting a 95-million initial stock run for the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, with the Max variants getting the bulk of the share. The iPhone 13 in contrast had a 90 million initial run, partially due to supply chain constraints.
Apple’s largest phones have always sold best, while the reverse holds for its smallest phones. Though Apple resisted moving to the largest phone size before its Android rivals, big phones have almost always sold better. Whether it be a bigger canvas for media consumption and gaming, a more expansive set of cameras, or just plain old big batteries, people seem to like them better. Apple thinks switching out a small phone for a larger phone in the middle of an impending global recession could lead to a sales boom. It’s a bold move. We’ll see how it plays out.