It’s mid-August, so we’re only a few weeks from iPhone event season. Apple has debuted its new iPhone every September for years. But when, exactly, is the iPhone 16 event happening? Here’s what to expect.
iPhone events in recent years
Over the past three years, here is when Apple has announced its latest iPhone:
- 2023: Tuesday, September 12
- 2022: Wednesday, September 7
- 2021: Tuesday, September 14
Another important data point to keep in mind is the proximity of these dates to Labor Day. The US holiday moves around from year to year, but it’s always the first Monday in September.
In 2023, Apple’s iPhone events was 8 days after Labor Day. In 2022 it was only two days after. While in 2021 it was again 8 days later.
Based on this history, we can observe that Apple favors Tuesdays and Wednesdays as iPhone event days. Tuesdays are preferred, but it pushes the event to Wednesday when it happens the same week as Labor Day.
Essentially, the company wants a full business day to happen in a new week before the iPhone event.
So what will Apple do this year with the iPhone 16 event?
Date for Apple’s iPhone 16 event
2023 and 2021 present an identical pattern. Both iPhone events took place on the second Tuesday of the month, a full 8 days after Labor Day.
Following this pattern, Tuesday, September 10 is the most likely date for the iPhone 16 event.
2022 did deviate from the pattern of adjacent years, but here’s why September 10 is still the most likely option for 2024.
Labor Day is especially early this year. Landing on September 2, it’s almost the earliest it could possibly be.
That makes Wednesday, September 4 unlikely. Especially because in parts of the US, schools won’t have even kicked off the fall semester yet. In New York City, for example, the first day of school is Thursday, September 5.
Apple probably won’t hold its biggest event of the year when plenty of people are still transitioning out of vacation mode. It has happened before, but Apple then reverted to a later date the following year.
Because of Labor Day being so early, and some schools starting so late, an event the first week of September is probably out.
Which again supports Tuesday, September 10 as iPhone 16 event day.
When to expect the iPhone 16 to release
If Apple announces the iPhone 16 on September 10, it will likely go on sale for pre-orders a few days later on Friday, September 13.
The iPhone 16 lineup should then arrive in users’ hands as soon as Friday, September 20.
The latest rumors indicate we’ll get some nice new color options with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16, plus a variety of camera upgrades, bigger screens for the Pro models, and more.
Are you excited for the iPhone 16 event? What are you most looking forward to seeing? Let us know in the comments.
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