Even though there is no official announcement from Apple yet, it looks more and more likely the new iPhone will go on sale September 21.
TechCrunch
reports having received word from "a trusted Verizon employee" that the US-based carrier is having "all-staff vacation blackout from the dates of Friday, September 21 to September 30." That means no Verizon employee is allowed to take a vacation during that time.
Typically, carriers like Verizon and AT&T issue "vacation blackouts" ahead of popular launches or other activities that'll need "every hand on the deck", so as to say. Apple is known to issue vacation blackouts for its retail staff ahead of big launches like the iPhone, though there are no confirmed reports of any such blackouts issued by the Cupertino-based company yet.
As reported earlier, it is expected that
Apple will announce the new iPhone on September 12 and start taking US pre-orders for the smartphone the same day. The September 21 date for the iPhone going on sale is in line with what we'd heard earlier, so there's a good chance Apple will stick to this schedule.
Earlier report had also indicated that Apple will launch the new iPhone in international markets two weeks later, likely Friday, October 5, and the new report does not confirm or contradict the same.
The iPhone 4S was available for sale in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany, and Japan on launch, so it's likely the new iPhone will be available in these markets on launch. The rumoured October 5 date this year may correspond to the expansion of the phone to other European markets and Singapore, just like the iPhone 4S.
Is this the new iPhone?