Apple scheduled an event for next week, fuelling iPhone 12 speculation

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Apple scheduled an event for next week, fuelling iPhone 12 speculation

Clare Duffy

CNN Digital

Published Tuesday, September 8, 2020 3:37PM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, September 8, 2020 3:53PM EDT

The Apple logo is illuminated in the entrance to the Fifth Avenue Apple store, in New York, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013. (AP Mark Lennihan)

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Apple has announced that it will hold an event next week, where many expect it could reveal the design of the latest iPhone or other new products.

The event will be streamed on its website next Tuesday, September 15. Apple typically holds its new product launch event in early September at its headquarters. The company's Worldwide Developer Conference in June was also held online-only because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Apple did not immediately return a request for comment.

The company has been widely expected to unveil an iPhone 12 with 5G capabilities this fall 鈥� the first iPhone to connect to the new, ultra-fast wireless network. Analysts expect the 5G iPhone to generate a "supercycle" of device upgrades, potentially prompting millions of people to buy the new device.

But iPhone fans may not want to get their hopes up too high for next week.

There have been questions for months about whether supply chain issues caused by the pandemic would delay the release of the new iPhone. Apple has already said new iPhones will be shipped slightly later than usual this year.

"Last year, we started selling iPhones in late September," Apple CFO Luca Maestri said during the company's most recent earnings call. "This year, we project supply to be available a few weeks later."

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said he expects the iPhone 12 reveal to come later this month or in early October, with four versions of the iPhone 12 hitting shelves by mid-October. That suggests the company may take the somewhat unusual step of announcing the new iPhone and other new products in two separate events, and that customers may have to wait a bit longer than a week to see the latest phone.

The company's September product event typically also includes the latest designs for other products, such as the iPad and the Apple Watch. Last year, Apple also revealed details on its Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade services.

"We believe [the September 15] event will primarily be focused on the next Apple Watch models and potentially a new lineup of iPads," Ives said in an email to CNN Business.

Apple may also unveil at the event both lower- and higher-end Apple Watches, a smaller HomePod speaker and the first-ever Apple branded over-the-ear headphones, according to Synovus Trust Company senior portfolio manager Daniel Morgan.