Two weeks ago to little fanfare, Apple somewhat abruptly released refreshed versions of the iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Mini. And now, it seems like Apple is prepping for the imminent release of the iPhone 9 (or whatever Apple ends up calling its upcoming mid-range phone).
Just this week, 9to5Mac reported that cases for the iPhone 9 have begun showing up at major retailers such as Best Buy alongside explicit instructions that the cases should not be added to inventory systems until April 5th.
While this isn’t the first time people have spotted iPhone 9 cases popping up in the wild, cases being delivered in mass to big box stores suggests that an official iPhone 9 announcement could happen within the month.
Apple briefing happing right now. ????
As I mentioned before – logistically, iPhone 9 will be ready to ship in April.
Due to economical pressures and shareholder obligations, Apple is considering releasing the iPhone 9 in April.
I’ll keep you updated.
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— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) March 26, 2020
To add even more evidence that the iPhone 9 could arrive shortly, last week YouTuber Jon Prosser said that Apple was holding briefings on the iPhone 9 and claimed that the phone will be ready to ship in April. Prosser even gave his claim a five toilet paper confidence rating (though don’t ask me why his confidence levels are based on TP), which given Prosser’s relatively accurate history regarding previous Apple announcements lends even more credence to his report.
While covid-19 has caused many products to be delayed, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in February that because the iPhone 9 is comprised largely of existing components and won’t include a new seven-element plastic camera lens that rumours say Apple has been developing, he is still expecting the iPhone 9 to come out sometime in the first half of 2020. The product news cycle would certainly belong to Apple even more than usual.
As for the phone itself, the iPhone 9 is expected to feature a 4.7-inch LCD display with a single rear camera, an Apple A13 processor, and a traditional TouchID home button instead of FaceID. Also, in case a 4.7-inch phone might be a bit too small for your tastes, some code recently found inside iOS 14 suggests that there will also be an iPhone 9 Plus with a 5.5-inch screen.
While none of this has been officially confirmed yet, most signs seem to indicate that Apple really is prepping to release a new mid-range iPhone sometime in April. So if you’ve been waiting to upgrade or are still holding onto an old iPhone 6 or 7, you may want to sit tight for another few weeks while we wait for Apple to officially release the iPhone 9.