Rumour: Apple will kick off iPhone 8 pre-orders on 15 September
You probably don't have long to save your pennies for Apple's next premium phone.
Apple is set to announce...something...next week at its "Meet at our place" event.
OK, it's almost certainly announcing its next generation iPhone, which most pundits have dubbed the iPhone 8, although it's also possible it will announce the iPhone 7s and the iPhone 7s Plus at the same time as well as a 3rd generation Apple Watch and a 4K-capable Apple TV set-top box.
Announcement is one thing, but then there's the issue of when they actually open up the new phones for pre-order and delivery. History would suggest a very short time between launch and pre-order, which lends credence to the idea that pre-orders will open up on 15 September 2017, which is a Friday.
Next Friday, to be precise. That presumption may have a little more weight behind it, with AppleInsider citing German carrier sources who expect to begin pre-orders on that date.
Predictably, Apple is staying mum, as it would, but if that date is correct and it follows its previous patterns, pre-orders for the iPhone 8 and its supposed fellows is most likely to commence from 5pm AEST in Australia on 15 September. If Apple follows its usual patterns, expect actual street dates of either 22 September (which would put it head-to-head with the Galaxy Note 8) or 29 September for general availability. As usual, Australia is likely to benefit from the international dateline in terms of being the first official market where new iPhones go on sale, if only for a few hours.
We'd also expect carrier pre-orders to open up at that time, although whether any carriers will pre-announce their deals within the tiny window between launch and pre-order remains to be seen. We'll have full coverage of the launch, pre-order system and all carrier deals from next week.
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