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SoftBank President Leaks iPhone 11 Release Date

Ken Miyauchi says the iPhone 11 will be available 10 days before a new unbundling law comes into effect in Japan on Oct. 1, suggesting Apple's next iPhone launches on Sept. 20.

August 7, 2019
iPhone XS Max

If Apple is true to form, the iPhone 11 will be released in September. And if the president of SoftBank is to be believed, you'll be able to buy one on Sept. 20.

As 9To5Mac reports, during an investor event this week in Japan, SoftBank president Ken Miyauchi was asked when he expected the iPhone 11 to launch. To everyone's surprise, he managed to give away the release date in a roundabout way.

On Oct. 1, a new Telecommunications Business Law goes into effect in Japan. It sees the end of carrier bundling when selling smartphones to consumers and means data and device plans must be sold separately. The reason the new law is important is because Miyauchi was asked how SoftBank would handle an expected September release for the iPhone 11 considering the new law being active the following month.

In response, Miyauchi said, "Honestly, I am wondering what should I do for 10 days," which suggests the iPhone 11 will arrive 10 days before the new law and therefore launches on Friday, Sept. 20. That fits with what Apple did last year when the iPhone XS ($166.89 at Amazon) launched on Friday, Sept. 21.

If Sept. 20 is the release date, then we should expect an iPhone event on Sept. 10 and then pre-orders to open on Sept. 13. Apple will obviously be hoping for swift sales of its new phones, but the new square camera bump on the back won't be to everyone's taste and we could see more consumers than usual taking a wait-and-see approach to the iPhone 11.

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About Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

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