The iPhone 6 Release Date (U.S.): Everything We Know

Apple’s fall launch event is now less than 24 hours away which means that we’re probably less than 24 hours away from an iPhone 6 release date announcement. With rumors swirling, we want to take a final look at what we know about the iPhone 6 release in the United States ahead of Apple’s imminent announcement.

For much of 2014, we’ve heard about the new iPhone 6 release that Apple is prepping for consumers around the world. iPhone 6 rumors have centered on the name iPhone 6, a probable name for a device that will come after both the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5, but a name that remains unconfirmed just one day ahead of the device’s launch event.

iPhone 6 have covered just about every detail, big and small, and they’ve left virtually no stone unturned ahead of tomorrow’s launch event. We’ve heard about the iPhone 6 specs that are rumored to include two new display sizes, a new A8 processor, a brand new camera, a new design that focuses on a slim form factor and metal, iOS 8, and more.

We’ve also heard about the iPhone 6 release date that supposedly will happen in September. Apple, like Samsung, typically does a good job of masking specific release details but rumors point to an arrival in the company’s well known iPhone release window. In other words, we could be just days away from the iPhone 6 release in the U.S.

With just hours to go before the iPhone 6 launch date, we want to take a look at everything we know about the iPhone 6 release date and what’s important for U.S. buyers to know ahead of time. These are the key details that prospective buyers will want to keep in mind as we head into the month of September and the iPhone 6 launch date that’s set for tomorrow.

A Bit of History

Before we get into all of the details, we want to take a quick trip down memory lane and take a look at what the iPhone release date from Apple usually entails.

Usually, Apple announces the iPhone release date at the end of its launch event. It also tends to group the United States amongst the initial release regions as its the company’s home base and one of its biggest markets. Apple’s iPhone release dates in the United States historically have fallen about two weeks after the launch date. They’ve also fallen on Friday.

Shortly after that, U.S. carriers usually announce their iPhone release plans including pre-order or ordering details. Consumers want to know when they can order the phone and Apple has typically kept them in the loop with this information.

Keep these things in mind as we tell you all about the latest iPhone 6 release date details for the United States.

iPhone 6 Release Date (U.S.)

For almost a year now, iPhone 6 launch date rumors have targeted September. Several weeks ago, Apple all but confirmed the iPhone 6 launch date with media invites beckoning the media to an event at DeAnza College on September 9th in Cupertino. That event takes place tomorrow and if Apple follows those patterns we told you about, we should see the U.S. iPhone 6 release date details confirmed tomorrow sometime between 10AM and Noon PST.

If Apple keeps the U.S. at the forefront of its plans, and there is reason to believe that it will, then the iPhone 6 release date in the United States could land in September. And more specifically, on September 19th. A new report from iGen, a French publication that’s leaked accurate Apple information in the past, suggests that it has firm iPhone 6 release date details, details that match up with everything we’ve heard about the iPhone 6 release date.

For months, specific iPhone 6 release date rumors have targeted September 19th for the company’s rumored 4.7-inch iPhone 6 model. The date falls on the third Friday of the month and two weeks after the iPhone 6 launch event meaning it fits all of the key iPhone release criteria that we touched on earlier. In other words, we could see the iPhone 6 hit the United States on September 19th.

iPhone 6 release rumors regarding the larger 5.5-inch model have been a little more vague with rumors pointing to a release in October or in November ahead of the holidays and Black Friday. This new report claims that both models will arrive on September 19th though supply for the 5.5-inch model will be weak on release day.

Again, knowing what we know about the U.S. iPhone release, it could be that we see Apple announce two iPhone 6 release dates for September 19th. This of course is far from confirmed but at this point, it’s worth circling that date on the calendar. Just make sure to do it in pencil.

U.S. Carriers

iPhone 6 release date prep has begun in the United States. Earlier today, T-Mobile announced a new trade in deal that promises the most money for old iPhones. The company tends to do this around iPhone time which means that it, like us, is expecting an iPhone 6 release that’s right around the corner in the U.S.

We also found one Verizon store that is already taking names for an off the books iPhone 6 pre-order. It’s not an official pre-order but employees are already boasting about early orders ahead of the iPhone 6 release date.

AT&T is also clearly prepping for the iPhone 6 release date. A recent leak shows AT&T is prepped for an iPhone 6 release date in the near future, with multiple iPhone 6 cases listed in inventory. AT&T also is ready and willing to offer a $100 bill credit for users who add a new AT&T Next line. This deal runs through September 30th which means that it should last through the initial iPhone 6 release.

iPhone 6 Pre-Orders (U.S.)

Despite these plans, we still haven’t seen any iPhone 6 pre-orders emerge for U.S. users. And despite the emergence of iPhone 6 pre-orders in China, there’s no guarantee that we’ll see an iPhone 6 pre-order land ahead of the iPhone 6 release date in the United States.

Last week, China Mobile reportedly took well over 30,000 pre-orders for an iPhone 6 that doesn’t even exist yet. The carrier is currently offering both the rumored 4.7-inch and the 5.5-inch models in the traditional 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage sizes, although we still don’t know how much storage the iPhone 6 will have when it arrives. Rumors point to a 128GB iPhone 6 but that remains unconfirmed.

Competitor China Telecom also has started taking pre-orders for the iPhone 6 complete with a splash page that features supposed iPhone 6 specs and placeholder images for the device itself. While this is great for Chinese consumers that want the iPhone 6, there pre-orders don’t mean a thing for the U.S. market.

We haven’t seen any iPhone 6 U.S. pre-order rumors emerge and Apple’s plans remain unpredictable. While the company used to offer early orders for the iPhone, it abolished them for the iPhone 5s in an effort to put people inside of its physical Apple Stores.

If Apple does announce a pre-order, it will almost certainly announce it alongside the iPhone 6 release date and at this point, consumers simply need to keep their fingers crossed.