Apple is reportedly canceling vacations for retail specialists between September 17 and November 4, according to a leaked memo sent to AppleCare Advisors and Leaders which was shared on Twitter this morning by prolific leakster Benjamin Geskin.
Based on the aforementioned blackout days, and assuming the pattern follows previous years, it’s easy to imagine an iPhone keynote on either Wednesday, September 20 or September 13.
Conversely, pre-orders should go live on Friday, September 22, meaning iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus (maybe even iPhone 8?) could go on sale on Friday, September 29.
Here’s an excerpt from Apple’s message:
The upcoming months are going to very exciting for all of us and for our customers. As you know, there are new product announcements and launches in September. In anticipation of the upcoming events and the corresponding heightened call volume expected, we will be increasing our staff across all of our programs over the summer.
In order to support our client during this very important time of year, we will be implementing Black Out Days in all AppleCare programs for Advisors and Leaders. The upcoming Black Out dates will be September 4 through November 4.
Apple notes that these dates are subject to change “as our support volume expectations fluctuate.” During blackout days, employees are restricted from requesting vacation.
“It is extremely important that everyone works their assigned scheduled days during this period—absences are unacceptable,” notes the firm.
https://twitter.com/VenyaGeskin1/status/867774248219267072
As with all leaks by Geskin, take this report with a pinch of salt until we’re able to verify this piece of information with other sources. For instance, there are spelling mistakes in the memo.