iPhone 9 may launch by next week, 6.7-inch iPhone 12 can get delayed: Report

The iPhone12’s EVT or the “Engineering Verification Test” phase may have been extended by a couple of weeks, which means to late April. This may also mean late arrival to the market, as per the analyst.

The iPhone12’s EVT or the “Engineering Verification Test” phase may have been extended by a couple of weeks, which means to late April. This may also mean late arrival to the market, as per the analyst. (Reuters)

A new report by Macrumours, citing GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu, re-confirms that Apple fans may see the much-anticipated iPhone 9 aka iPhone SE 2 around mid-April. This piece of information falls in line with what has been rumoured since weeks. The smartphone was supposed to launch in late March but got delayed due to Covid-19 lockdown. Although Apple has neither confirmed the launch date nor the smartphone's existence, it has previously listed the iPhone 9's compatible accessory on its website.

The mid-April launch of the iPhone 9 means that Apple could unveil the handset early next week. We have already talked about the expected price, design and specifications of the handset based on the information available on the web through leaks and rumours.

Some key specifications of the iPhone 9 or iPhone SE 2 include 4.7-inch screen, iPhone 8-like design with TouchID, Apple A13 chip, 3GB RAM and up to 256GB inbuilt storage.

The research note by Pu also talks about the upcoming iPhone 12, which will be the company's flagship smartphone arriving later this year. It is believed that iPhone12's EVT or the "Engineering Verification Test" phase may have been extended by a couple of weeks, which means to late April. However, this is only for the 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch screen variants. The EVT for the one with 6.7-inch screen size has reportedly been delayed till mid-May.

Because of the delay, Pu believes that users will get their hands on the 5.4-inch and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 in September while the 6.7-inch model may reach the shelves in October. The two-phase rollout is said to be the same that Apple followed in 2018 for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and the iPhone XR. Even in 2017, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus reached the market in September followed by iPhone X in November.