iPhone 9 Release Date is April 15 Claims Leaker; iOS 13.4.5 Hints at iPhone 9

Rumours continue to build up to an Apple iPhone 9 launch in April, according to the latest apparent leaks.

According to Jon Prosser from Front Page Tech, he claims Apple will announce its iPhone 9 on Wednesday, April 15, while shipments will take place one week later on April 22.

“Per an internal meeting yesterday, Apple is now preparing for an April release,” said Prosser on Twitter, sharing the “tentative dates” above. “Keep in mind: we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and things could change,” he adds.

In a follow-up, he says, “To help with the launch, over the next two weeks, Apple is shipping iMacs to select retail employees who are being asked to work remotely. Those employees will be trained in order to offer sales and tech support online for customers,” writes Prosser.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman later corroborated Prosser’s iMacs being shipped to retail employees leak for tech support.

iPhone 9 is believed to be the successor to the iPhone SE and iPhone 8.

Earlier this month, Prosser said Apple’s AirPower wireless charging mat “isn’t dead”, claiming the project was back internally, with prototyping underway to “re-engineer the coils to displace heat more effectively.”

More ‘iPhone 9’ leaks in iOS 13.4.5

Earlier today, Apple released iOS 13.4.5 for developers. Now, 9to5Mac says references inside this latest beta hint a new iPhone 9 is coming soon.

“What has changed in iOS 13.4.5 is that the CarKey API now includes code that mentions compatibility with an iPhone with Touch ID for the first time,” reports Filipe Esposito.

Code within iOS 13.4.5 also mentions an iPhone with Touch ID that can work with CarKey and Express Transit cards with power reserve, likely referring to iPhone 9, since the iPhone 8 does not support these two coupled features.

Another line in iOS 13.4.5 code states, “Your device does not support Car Key,” which 9to5Mac believes suggests older iPhone models will not support smartphone key feature, rumoured to launch with BMW.

We’re a couple of weeks away from these rumoured iPhone 9 release dates. If they are legit, we’ll surely be seeing some leaks as we approach the final launch dates.