Pre-orders for Apple's 2018 iPhones have already commenced for one Romania-based online store, seemingly offering potential customers the ability to acquire the "iPhone Xs," "iPhone Xs Max (plus)," and "iPhone 9" ahead of Apple's official unveiling of the new smartphones.
Online retailer Quick Mobile has listings for all three of Apple's expected smartphones on its store, going with the "Xs" suffix for the two OLED-based models and "iPhone 9" for the LCD-equipped version. For the larger of the OLED models, the store is hedging its bets with the "Max" name, by adding "Plus" to the listing title as well.
All of the models are shown in black and white options, though the rumored brightly-colored variants of the "iPhone 9" are not present on the site. The site is also seemingly matching current rumors for storage capacities, with the "Xs" models available in 64-gigabyte, 256-gigabyte, and 512-gigabyte variants, while the "iPhone 9" is only offered in 64-gigabyte and 256-gigabyte versions.
Notably, none of the store pages provide detailed information about any of the new iPhones, aside from their name, an image of the back of the device, and capacities.
It is plausible that retailers and carriers are provided details about upcoming releases, like the 2018 iPhones, some time in advance of Apple's announcement, in order to allow them time to produce marketing plans and to prepare product pages. If presented to the retailers and carriers ahead of launch, the companies usually agree to avoid any leaks of the product before the official launch.
It is unclear if the retailer's leaks stem from information provided by Apple, but it is also entirely plausible that the store has produced the pages under its own initiative, based on speculation and reports about the incoming iPhone refresh. The general lack of information, including features, functions, specifications, and other elements, may be a sign of the listings being created in this way.
Apple has scheduled its "Gather Round" 2018 iPhone event for September 12, held in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park, the company's new headquarters. It is expected the event will feature two OLED iPhone models with 6.5-inch and 5.8-inch screens, along with a third 6.1-inch LCD-based model that could be available in a variety of colors.
Other items that could make an appearance include a new Apple Watch Series 4, as well as updated iPad Pro models.