There are a lot of things about the iPhone 14 we have a pretty clear idea about ahead of its expected fall launch. But the iPhone 14 release date hasn’t been among them — until now. Leakers have started making their guesses as to when Apple’s next big phone release will happen, and now a pretty well-sourced Apple reported has weighed in with a likely date. And we’ll be honest — it’s a little earlier than our initial guess as to the iPhone 14 release date timeline based on previous launches and a couple of pertinent leaks. While leaks about the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models primarily focus on features. The Pro offerings are likely to ditch the iPhone’s signature notch in favor of a pair of cutouts, for example, and the iPhone 14 Pro could see its main camera bumped up to a 48MP sensor. Meanwhile, the mini model of the past two years looks likely to give way to the iPhone 14 Max, a 6.7-inch version of Apple’s standard iPhone. While not official, those details seem pretty solid. And now the rumored iPhone 14 release date is becoming firmer, too. some The most believable date comes from a report in Bloomberg (opens in new tab), where Mark Gurman says that Apple’s fall product event will likely happen on September 7. Will the iPhone 14 show up on the first Wednesday in September? Here’s a look back on how Apple has handled recent iPhone launches and what factors might influence the iPhone 14 release date. If you’re wondering what the iPhone lineup will look after the iPhone 14’s arrival, we’ve also puzzled out which iPhone models could be discontinued and which ones Apple will continue to offer.
iPhone 14 release date: When previous iPhones have launched
Nobody knows what the future holds — even if we do have a better idea about the iPhone 14 release date than before — but Apple’s recent past holds some clues as to what could be coming out of Cupertino and when. Here’s a quick recap of when Apple has scheduled the last eight iPhone launches. Your pattern recognition skills don’t necessary need to be sharp to spot the trend in that chart. In all but one year since 2014, Apple has announced its iPhones in September. Even more specifically, that announcement typically comes within the first two weeks of September. There’s been one exception, and that’s 2020. You may remember that the first year of the coronavirus pandemic disrupted a lot of manufacturing that year, the iPhone included. So Apple postponed its iPhone 12 launch event until October 13. That wasn’t the only unusual thing about the iPhone 12 launch. Apple also had to stagger the release of its newly announced models. The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro both came out 10 days after the launch event, but the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max didn’t ship until November. The iPhone 12 launch was actually the third time Apple staggered its phone releases. The iPhone XR appeared a month after the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max in 2019, while the iPhone X didn’t show up until early November 2018 — nearly six weeks after the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus made their debut. In 2021, things got back to normal with all four iPhone 13 models shipping at once (though there were supply issues, particularly for the iPhone 13 Pro models through the holiday shopping season). Until Apple or rumor mongers suggest differently, let’s assume that a single launch date for any and all iPhone models is Apple’s preferred way of doing things. Again, looking at the chart above, you notice a pattern. Apple tends to schedule the actual launch of its phones 10 to 11 days after unveiling them to a waiting world. While there are exceptions — the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus shipped later than that time frame — you’d expect the iPhone 14 to fall into a similar pattern.
iPhone 14 release date: What the leakers say
Prior to Gurman’s report of a September 7 release date, most leakers were suggesting that the second week of September seemed the most likely time for an iPhone 14 release. Subsequently, a separate report claimed September 6 was the likely date. While Apple does seem to like holding events on Tuesday, September 6 is the day after the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. In the past, Apple has shied away from holding an event immediately after a holiday — for the iPhone 6s launch in 2015, it shifted its product event to a Wednesday to avoid holiday conflicts. That’s why we think Gurman’s report of a September 7 date is more likely to happen. Earlier in May some reports had warned of production delays are affecting the new iPhone 14 Max model. For now, though, we’d expect all four models to show up at the same time this year, pending any further rumors about a staggered iPhone 14 release.
iPhone 14 release date: When we think Apple will announce its phones
We initially circled September 13 on our calendars for an iPhone 14 launch event. Fortunately, we drew that circle in pencil as subsequent rumors point to the event happening a week earlier. With Gurman now weighing in — he says the September 7 date is based on information from “people with knowledge of the matter” — we’re pretty convinced that the first week of the month is when Apple will show off its new phones. Add another detail from Gurman — the reporter says some Apple retail workers are being told to prep for a Sept. 16 release date — and September 7 seems like a near lock. We want to stress — there’s nothing official about that date, and it could change as more information gets leaked about Apple’s iPhone plans or when Apple issues its formal invitations to the launch. But if you want to make your plans now, September 7 sounds like as good a date as any to pay attention to what’s going down in Cupertino.
