iPhone 7 pre-order date tipped for September 9

iPhone 6S

It doesn't seem like there's much left to know about the iPhone 7 at this point – and that includes the release date.

We'd heard that it would be landing in shops during the week of September 12, and @evleaks (a usually reputable tipster) followed that up by saying it would go on sale on Friday September 16 – and now the same tipster has suggested pre-orders will open on Friday September 9.

That still doesn't tell us when the iPhone 7 will actually be announced. Pre-orders may not open the same day as the announcement, but assuming @evleaks is right it seems very likely that the announcement will happen during that week, which begins on September 5.

iPhone 7 leak

We should stress that this isn't official information, but @evleaks seems very confident of it – and he's one of the most reliable leakers in the business.

Evolution not revolution

Whenever it launches, the iPhone 7 isn't expected to be a huge advance over the iPhone 6 – in fact it might not even be called the iPhone 7, with that name instead reserved for a massive overhaul next year, on the phone's 10-year anniversary.

But there is talk of a waterproof design, a larger camera lens and a lot more power, so the iPhone 7 (if indeed it's called that) could still be worth getting excited about – and the potentially more interesting iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 Pro may be landing alongside it.

Either way, Apple's probably not worrying, as it's just sold its one billionth handset.

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.