Better get in line right now: A German wireless carrier might have just spilled the beans on when Apple’s next iPhone will launch, and Apple could be releasing as many as three new models of the iPhone in just a couple of months.
Prognosticating on the release date, features, and even the name of the next iPhone is the sort of thing people build careers on. (We call those people tech writers, and they’re about as nerdy as you’d imagine.) Sometimes, though, iPhone news just comes gift-wrapped, as appears to be the case with German site apfelpage.de ‘s most recent find .
The news: German carrier Deutsche Telekom is reportedly telling its support representatives that they can entice customers to stay with the carrier because the iPhone 6 will launch in mid-September. Specifically, Deutsche Telekom is pointing to September 19 as the iPhone’s release date.
That’s pretty specific, especially considering that Apple is probably still manufacturing the first wave of the next generation of iPhone. Plus, Apple doesn’t really tend to let its partners know too much regarding its plans before they’re announced. Still, as Apple Insider points out , it may be a good guess, considering the launches of previous iPhones. The iPhone 5 hit stores on September 21, 2012, while the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c launched on September 20 last year. Prior to that, the iPhone 4S launched in mid-October.
Apple is nothing if not consistent when it comes to this sort of thing. The iPhone maker keeps the same deliberate pace in both the features it adds to its devices and the schedule on which it releases them, no matter what tech observers say it needs to do. That deliberateness pays off quarter after quarter, as Apple ranks among the most profitable firms in the world, with $57.6 billion in revenue and $13.1 billion in profit just last quarter.
As to what the features the iPhone 6 will have, the popular consensus is settled on a larger screen likely being the biggest change in Apple’s bestselling smartphone. The next iPhone will reportedly have a 4.7-inch display, but that could just be one model. Gotta Be Mobile points to new claims that Apple will release three different iPhone sizes: one a 4.7-inch model, another with a 5.5-inch display, and yet another that retains 4-inch screen of the current iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.
Releasing three different iPhone sizes would actually bring Apple to par with its competitors in terms of offerings. HTC, Samsung, LG, and Sony all offer three size variants of their flagship models , and it appears that Apple may now be doing the same with its iPhone. Of course, Apple makes more money off of its smartphone than all of those companies combined, so it’s not exactly like Apple has to offer bigger screen sizes.
Tech fans and observers will likely get a clue as to just what Apple has planned for the iPhone early next week, when the company hosts its annual Worldwide Developer Conference. That conference will likely show off the next generation of iOS, the operating system that powers iPhones and iPads. Also expected to be on display is a new platform allowing iPhone owners to control thermostats and other household appliances using just their smartphones.
Lead image: iPhone 6 lineup concept. By Ran Avni, via Behance.