iPhone 7/6S release date gets blurry after Apple Watch launch
The iPhone 7 release date was supposed to be more clear than this, and now those who are looking to buy one are left to wonder what Apple is up to next. Many expect the iPhone 6S to be the last “S” model as the industry transitions from two-year cellular contracts to every-year trade in programs, meaning Apple doesn’t have to offer the same model twice in a row in order to catch everyone up. But now with the Apple Watch launch having come and gone, what is it really planning for the iPhone 6S and 7?
Some observers expected Apple to launch the iPhone 6S alongside the Apple Watch, giving it a six month product cycle and also steering users of older iPhones toward buying the Watch because they were able to concurrently upgrade to a new iPhone model. But that didn’t happen, either because iPhone 6 sales are still dominant, or because initial Watch demand is already well above inventory, or a combination of both. The proposed roadmap had the iPhone 7 release date coming in the fall of 2015, thereby doubling the speed of new arrivals. But now one has to stop and ask whether Apple is planning to jump straight to the iPhone 7 or if it’s still planning on taking its time with its traditional rollout schedule.
In other words, will the iPhone 7 release date come in the fall after all, with the iPhone 6S never coming to pass at all? It’s entirely possible. But there’s also the possibility that Apple will launch the 7 and 6S concurrently in the fall, with the former being the headliner and the latter being the mid-price model. Then again, Apple could launch the 6S this fall and hold off on the iPhone 7 until the year 2016. While this may be speculative, Apple’s continued silence on the matter means that educated guesses are the best that consumers have to go on for now.
Jerry Miller