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Apple

iPhone 7 to hit shelves Sept. 16, report says

By Philip Michaels Tom's Guide
Published | Updated
iPhoneSE

The new iPhone SE on display during an event at the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California March 21, 2016. (REUTERS/Stephen Lam)

Mark your calendars: A new iPhone could be in your hand in a little more than a month.

Over the weekend, Evan Blass, whose made his bones leaking accurate details about upcoming smartphones, announced that the iPhone 7 would arrive the week of Sept. 12. In a subsequent tweet, Blass clarified that he meant the phone would go on sale that week, specifying Sept. 16 as the date Apple's next phone will hit retail shelves.

That's a departure from how Apple has handled things the last couple of years. Typically, the company holds a press event in early September — last year's edition took place Sept. 9 — where it unveils the new iPhones along with any other hardware it's hoping to sell during the upcoming holidays. The phones usually arrive in stores a couple weeks later: in the case of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, that was on Sept. 25.

Should Apple stick to its schedule of unveiling the phones a couple weeks before they go on sale, that would mean a press event could be held as soon as the last week of August. Of course, Apple could also speed things up this time around, and stick with an early September date for its press event — possibly the Tuesday or Wednesday after the Sept. 5 Labor Day holiday in the U.S.

Apple has plenty of incentive to push the iPhone 7 release forward. Rival Samsung is planning an Aug. 2 press event in New York where it's expected to take the wraps off the Galaxy Note 7. That would give Samsung more than a month's head start if Apple were to stick to its usual schedule for fall releases.

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There's still lingering questions over how much excitement Apple can build for this fall's iPhone launch. Rumors surrounding the upcoming phone have yet to generate much buzz, as it's expected the new iPhones will drop the 3.5mm headphone jack while adding dual-lens cameras on the larger iPhones. Speaking of larger phones, Apple could be developing an iPhone Pro aimed at mobile users who view their phone as more of a laptop replacement.

We'll find out if the next iPhone can exceed the tech industry's tepid expectations when Apple holds that iPhone 7 launch event. Let us know what your expectations are in the comments.