Apple recently confirmed the next iPhone will arrive a little later than its usual mid-September launch window.

Likely due to the coronavirus pandemic, it had been suspected for much of 2020 that Apple's flagship product would be hit with setbacks, as designers and engineers work from home, and Chinese production lines get back up to speed.

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Now, popular Apple news leaker Jon Prosser has published what he claims to be the launch and release schedule for the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro, as well as the new Watch Series 6, and an updated iPad.

According to Prosser, who tweeted late on August 12, Apple will announce the new Watch and iPad via a press release during the week commencing September 7. As Apple often likes to make product announcements on Tuesdays, this indicates that the following day, September 8, could be the day we see the new smartwatch and tablet.

This date is also very close to when we would normally have expected to see the new Watch and iPhone family, had 2020 been anything like a normal year for Apple.

Apple has announced several products using press releases instead of the usual fanfare of launch events this year, and with very few rumors about the Watch Series 6 and new iPad floating around, we wouldn't be surprised to see these small launches get the low-key press release treatment too.

As for Apple's headline event of 2020, Prosser believes the iPhone 12 family will be announced using an online event during the week of October 12. He says the iPhone 12 (but not the Pro) will open for pre-orders that same week, before shipping from the next week, beginning October 19.

But Apple fans waiting for the company's next flagship phone, expected to be called the iPhone 12 Pro, the wait could be even longer. Prosser believes the 12 Pro will be announced alongside the regular 12, but won't open for pre-orders and ship until some time in November.

This isn't the first time Apple has delayed the new iPhone. Both the iPhone X and iPhone XR arrived a few weeks after the iPhone 8 and iPhone XS they were announced alongside. But the iPhone 12 will be the first to launch online, with no live audience. We will be interested to see how Apple hosts the launch event.