iPhone 6 can be pre-ordered in China, expected release date September 19

12:22 Apple , Tech News 0 Comments

It’s just 7 days now until Apple officially unveils the next model(s) of the iPhone. We expect two new handsets sporting a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display respectively. The smaller will simply be called the iPhone 6, but the larger could have one of several names including the iPhone 6L, iPhone Pro, or even the iPhone Air.
Naming isn’t important, but a release date is, and China may hold the answer. China Mobile has started offering pre-orders for the iPhone 6, where as other networks have started teasing the launch. China Unicorn has even gone so far as to state a release date of September 19. That makes sense for Apple because as soon as the iPhone 6 is made official iPhone 5S and 5C sales will drop dramatically. A 10-day gap between announce and release is ideal to keep sales flowing.

As for how much the new smartphones will cost, the predicted price in China for the entry-level 4.7-inch 16gb iPhone 6 is expected to be $860. The 32Gb model will be $985, and the $1,115. For the larger 5.5-inch handset, pricing will be $1,015, $1,150, and $1,250 respectively for the same storage levels. Not cheap by any means, but also pricing for China and off contract.
September 19 fits with Apple’s history of releasing on a Friday, so if that’s the date in China I expect it will be the date in the US. It seems unlikely they’d release in China first and make the US wait.
I suspect the lines outside Apple stores on release date this year to be longer than usual because Apple has finally decided to make its smartphone larger. The 4-inch display does not cut it anymore, and the competition moved on a long time ago.