It’s clear by now that this is the year we are going to see a budget iPhone launch from Apple. The only question was when Apple will be announcing it. The smartphone is expected to be called the iPhone 9 and according to a new report, Apple will be launching the budget smartphone on April 15. Apple is yet to send out invites for the launch event. Although going by the present situation, it might just host an online-only live stream to announce the launch of the phone.
According to a tipster, Apple recently held an internal meeting where it was decided the iPhone 9 will be launched on April 15 tentatively with shipments starting from April 22. However, the tipster also said that since we are in the midst of a pandemic, things can change.
https://twitter.com/jon_prosser/status/1245021088855273472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But there are some conflicts in this report. A previous report by 9to5Mac claimed stores like Best Buy in the US have been asked to not put iPhone 9 cases that they reportedly received on inventory till the end of this week, which is April 5. The report states the phone will be announced on April 5, and the cases will be put up on display after the announcement.
https://twitter.com/9to5mac/status/1244763239067639809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The same publication also said they received a photo from a tipster at Best Buy that showed a case for a 4.7-inch iPhone with a cutout for TouchID-based home button. The presence of TouchID was also found in the code of iOS 13.4.5 beta.