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Apple ‘tentatively’ plans mid-September iPhone event as iOS 8 nears completion

iPhone 6

Apple is gearing up for its first major hardware and software launches of 2014. The Cupertino-based company is “tentatively” planning a keynote address in mid-September to announce the iPhone 6 and provide final details on iOS 8, according to sources briefed on the plans.

These people say that the second and third weeks of September are the mostly likely weeks for the event to be held, but they add that manufacturing uncertainties could alter the event’s timeframe. A decision has not been finalized, and sources made it clear that the plans are in flux.

The event will showcase at least the new iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch screen, the sources say, but a final decision on debuting the larger, 5.5-inch “phablet” model at the event has not been made. The 4.7-inch variant of the new phone is farther along in both internal testing and manufacturing preparation, the sources added.

The iPhone 6 will be a significant launch for Apple with its bigger display and slimmer design. Yesterday, Apple announced that it has sold 35.2 million iPhones in the June quarter. While that number brings iPhone sales up roughly 12% year-over-year, the sales figure came in below the expectation of financial analysts. Apple CFO Luca Maestri said iPhone sales were on the high end of Apple’s own expectations, but he noted, as Apple does annually, that sales could have been higher if it were not for “new product rumors.”

As Apple sets its sights on unveiling the new iPhone hardware, the company is also racing to finish up iOS 8, the software that will come pre-loaded on the iPhone 6. Apple is nearing completion of iOS 8.0’s development, and it plans to release a fifth and likely final beta to developers for testing on Monday, August 4th, according to the sources. Apple will finish up work on this beta 5 early next week, the sources said, and a golden master version of iOS 8 will be completed either in late-August or early September in order to provide ample time for both carrier testing and the installation of the iOS onto iPhone 6s in production.

As iOS 8.0 with improved messaging and a new Health app nears a public release, Apple will soon turn its iOS development attention to iOS 8.1 and iOS 9. Apple has been working on a new dual-screen multitasking mode for iPads as well as new functionality for Maps that should be ready for either 8.1 or 9.0. Apple originally planned to debut both of those features in the iOS 8 version launching this fall, but engineering resource constraints as well as internal politics have caused internal delays.

Apple is said to also be planning a second event for the fall that will take place in October. As others have reported, this event will likely center around Apple’s upcoming wearable fitness band. Besides the wearable device, as we reported yesterday, Apple will utilize October to talk about the upcoming OS X Yosemite.

Also in Apple’s pipeline for this fall are new versions of the iPad. Sources and previous reports say to expect a more modest series of iPad updates this fall that center around internal device improvements and Touch ID fingerprint scanners. As he says almost quarterly, Cook said yesterday that “significant innovation” is in the cards for the iPad in the future.

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Comments

  1. Lars Pallesen - 10 years ago

    Mid September, that’s later than Apple’s usual iPhone events, isn’t it? Well, I guess Apple needs to build a larger inventory of iPhones this year to debut the iPhone 6 simultaneously in China? China Mobile alone adds another 790 million to the list of potential customers for the new iPhone 6. I have a nasty feeling that will push Denmark further back in line for the new iPhone this time. Hmmm.

  2. Brian Ramage (@BJMRamage) - 10 years ago

    no real surprises here.

  3. michabailey - 10 years ago

    When you say “dual-screen multitasking”, do you actually mean split-screen?

  4. charismatron - 10 years ago

    You heard it here first, folks! There may be just possibly might be an Apple iPhone event sometime in September. Maybe. Probably. Possibly.

  5. taoprophet420 - 10 years ago

    Surprised to hear no mention of a new Apple TV for the September or October event. Not sure how long Apple can keep making Apple TV.s without being apple to play games on it.

  6. herb02135go - 10 years ago

    The company is blaming new-product rumors for lower than expected sales.

    So this very website (and those who perpetuate rumors) are hurting the company’s bottom line.

    You should be so ashamed!

    • rettun1 - 10 years ago

      If I didn’t start visiting this site, I wouldn’t have bought NEARLY as many Apple products as I have

  7. why are we seeing renders of iPhones with glass panels and thin division lines when we KNOW it’s an all metal product with fat lines as radio windows. We’ve seen the actual back panel, why ignore it?

    • YU No - 10 years ago

      How do we know what we have seen is the real back panel? All the comments you make are as stupid as this one?

  8. Truffol (@Truffol) - 10 years ago

    People are floating two dates atm…Sept 12 and Sept 19. At least this shows Apple is able to eliminate previously-rumored production hurdles and release the iPhone on schedule!

  9. Abhishek Sharma - 10 years ago

    Start imagine a cell phone is measuring your body temperature, blood pressure, heartbeat rate e.t.c. Now stop imagine and see Apple iPhone 6 is giving the same features mentioned above.

    The company is expected to launch two iPhone 6 models, one out of which will have screen bigger than their predecessors.http://sqeets.com/articles/apple-is-ready-to-launch-iphone-6-in-mid-september-2014/