Apple is famously a creature of habit, particularly when it comes to launching iPhones and that makes the job of trying to predict the arrival of its iPhone 14 line a little bit easier.
As with the last two generations of iPhone, we’re expecting four models across Apple’s 2022 crop but comprised of a slightly different makeup than that of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series.
After two years, the Mini is out and a new Max model is in, meaning fans should expect an iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max: that’s two screen sizes and two performance levels. The new iPhone 14 Max should offer a similar experience to the standard iPhone 14, while swapping out its 6.1-inch display for a larger 6.7-inch panel, plus a larger battery.
Although the company won’t likely set an official date for the launch of the iPhone 14 until a week or so before it intends to debut the new line, the long lineage of iPhone launches past provide clues to when fans should mark on their calendars.
When we suspect the iPhone 14 will launch
Although the original iPhone made its debut in January 2007, subsequent models up until 2010 arrived in June each year. Apple made a clear shift toward fall launches, starting with 2011’s iPhone 4S – a pattern that has persisted ever since.
Every iPhone launch, starting with the 4S, has taken place in either September or October of its respective launch year (iPhone SEs notwithstanding). Take a look:
- iPhone 4S – Tuesday, October 4, 2011
- iPhone 5 – Wednesday, September 12, 2012
- iPhone 5S / 5C – Tuesday, September 10, 2013
- iPhone 6/6 Plus – Tuesday, September 9, 2014
- iPhone 6S / 6S Plus – Wednesday, September 9, 2015
- iPhone 7/7 Plus – Wednesday, September 7, 2016
- iPhone 8/8 Plus / X – Tuesday, September 12, 2017
- iPhone XS / XS Max / XR – Wednesday, September 12, 2018
- iPhone 11 series – Tuesday, September 10, 2019
- iPhone 12 series – Tuesday, October 13, 2020
- iPhone 13 series – Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Breaking down the last eleven years of iPhone launch dates, nine took place in September, while only two were held in October, two took place in the first week of their respective months, and the rest were held in the second. Of those eleven launches, seven occurred on a Tuesday, while four were on a Wednesday.
Taking all that into account, probability dictates that 2022’s iPhone 14 launch date will be on the second Tuesday in September, or seven weeks and three days (that’s 52 days) away, at the time of writing (July 23).
If you want the actual date, the iPhone 14 should launch on Tuesday, September 13, 2022
What about an on-sale date?
While there’s some variation when you take into account models like the iPhone XR, when Apple shows off a new crop of iPhones on stage, it also dishes up an on-sale date with comforting regularity.
Apple usually brings its newest iPhones to market on the Friday of the week after their launch. In the case of the iPhone 14’s predicted launch date, that would make its on-sale date Friday, September 23, 2022.
If you simply cannot wait that long, however, you could always check out our rundown of the best iPhones available right now, or the best phones on the market, if you’re not devoted to Apple’s iOS.