Apple iPhone 15: When will the iPhone 16 be released?
Updated on August 22 with further reports on the timing of the keynote as well as the leak, the hoax and the reactions to it.
September is the month when Apple will most definitely launch its next iPhones: Apple has chosen September every year since the iPhone 5 was released (except when it came out a few weeks later in 2020 due to Covid). But when exactly? A new report has surfaced that sheds light on when the reveal could happen – although the leak has since been debunked as a hoax. And another report throws a completely different date into the mix. Let’s look at that first, and then the history of the fake leak and what it still tells us, leaving the discredited nonsense aside.
And before we get to that, we would like to point out that the alleged leak caused quite a stir.
The reliable Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac reports that the entire predicted schedule may be wrong and that Apple could unveil the iPhone 16 series a week earlier than everyone expects. Espósito bases this on the fact that Mark Gurman has reported that iOS 18 will be ready sooner than thought, so the release could also happen earlier.
Well, Apple doesn’t have to hold back: if it can release the phone earlier, sales of the new iPhone will start sooner, which is a good thing. Espósito says of an earlier unveiling: “If that’s the case, Apple will likely invite the press to the iPhone 16 event later this week – since invitations are usually sent to journalists two weeks before the event.”
OK, let’s stick with that. While invites are sometimes sent out that early, it’s just as common for press to be invited just over a week beforehand. As someone who’s been lucky enough to be invited, I know that an early invite is always welcome, but not always achieved. Apple chooses the timing of the invites to have maximum impact. The report also points out that one thing that could make the widely preferred date of Tuesday, September 10, less likely is the presidential debate already scheduled for that evening. You can read my predictions for the keynote date at the end of this post.
According to 9to5Mac, that could mean the unveiling would take place on Tuesday, September 3rd or Wednesday, September 4th. I’ll say now that I think both dates are highly unlikely, as the huge tech show in Berlin, IFA, starts right then and Apple wants to have free reign in the news cycle without being distracted by the likes of Sony, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic competing for airtime in the tech space. It’s possible, of course, but sorry Felipe, I’m not sure that’s right.
Back to the furore caused by the fake leak, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman commented on X, saying: “1) Apple event invites are never leaked in advance. That would be basically impossible. 2) I’m shocked/not shocked that this was reported in multiple publications. I’m less surprised that the original writer published it without any due diligence and with any claim to authority.”
I do not think Mr. Gurman is attacking me because my post, as you will see above and below, is about this being a fake invite and what we can still learn from the whole mess. And I agree with him that due diligence is important (that’s why I included @lorevfx’s comment that they faked the invite). And Majin Bu continues to be polite in his replies, saying “Maybe I’m not very scrupulous, that’s true, but I never claimed authority. I just post, as always, the things I find or that are sent to me that I think can be plausible.”
And that’s the crux of the matter: a leaked Apple invite was, to be honest, literally never plausible. The contents of the invite are almost certainly still being tweaked and in the hands of a tiny number of people at Apple.
Anyway, here are the details of what appeared online, what was nonsense, what was true, and where it leaves us.
1. The leak
The report comes from notorious leaker Majin Bu, who said on X that they were given a copy of the invite to the next Apple event where the iPhone 16 will be announced. I knew the invite was fake, but some of the content in it is convincing.
2. The invitation
Below is a mockup of the invite and indeed @lorevfx has now claimed on X that they created it. They said: “Fun fact: I created the ‘leaked’ Apple Event invite in under 10 minutes using Figma and an AI generated texture and sent it to the leaker just because I was bored.” Majin Bu has now quite generously admitted that he was duped, saying: “I appreciate your effort though. If you need someone for graphics, contact this guy.”
While it was a great product, it was not watertight. Apple has complete control over things like the invitations it sends out, and it’s highly unlikely that this could leak.
3. What is plausible
Still, there are details that sound somewhat plausible, like the tagline “Ready. Set. Capture.” This would refer to the new capture button being introduced in the iPhone 16 lineup, although that seems to be locking things in a bit too much. There’s also the choice of a bronze color, which is expected to be a new shade for the iPhone 16 Pro.
However, there are a few things that I think are spot on. First, I’m sure it will be an in-person event and that it will be held at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino. And it will start at 10 a.m. Pacific Time. But I don’t think anything else is right.
4. Keynote date
Wait a minute, I hear you say. What about the date of the keynote? Everyone is saying what this invitation says, which is that it will be on Tuesday, September 10th.
That’s plausible, but not certain. I think there’s a little more wiggle room as to the date of the announcement. The fact that everyone was fasting on September 10th is one of the reasons I think it could be that way, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
5. Release date
I believe the release date is set for Friday, September 20th, but the keynote date could be a day earlier or a few days later than the widely predicted September 10th. We’ll know soon.
