Contrary to what an earlier leak suggested, it looks like the iPhone 7 might not actually hit retail until September 23 – two weeks after the widely suggested date that preorders will open.
Last month, reliable tech leaker Evan Blass “confirmed” that the next iPhone will become available for preorder on September 9. A leaked retail schedule for carrier AT&T and shared by 9to5Mac has even further strengthened the credibility of this claim, as it indicates that “merchandising reset hours” are scheduled for that same date. However, there are further such hours not set for September 16…
iPhone 7 release date for carriers might be as late as Sep. 23 after rumored Sep. 7 event https://t.co/mqntFAyjD9 pic.twitter.com/6E5zcq3Far
— 9to5Mac.com (@9to5mac) August 16, 2016
Instead, they are pencilled in for September 23. That’s a week later than the date Blass has previously hinted at for the iPhone 7’s retail release. Nonetheless, a two-week period between the opening of preorders and the handset’s in-store launch is hardly without decent precedent. Last year, the iPhone 6S was released on September 25, 13 days after the preorder period started on September 12.
However, only seven days separated the two dates in the case of the iPhone 6 launch in 2014 – and there is no solid evidence that AT&T’s “merchandising reset hours” listed here even relate to the iPhone 7’s arrival. 9to5Mac admits to having been informed that AT&T actually schedules these resets regularly – and at least one of these resets planned for September could actually concern the LG V20 phone due that month.