Date Reportedly Set For 4-Inch iPhone 5se Release

Ever since news of the lackluster sales of the last iPhone came to light, rumors sprang up that Apple was hard at work on a new product release to re-energize the public and investors. As usual, those rumors have proven to be true.

9to5Mac reported that Apple has pegged Friday, March 18, as the release date for a slate of new products. Those could contain a new iPhone with a four-inch screen, as well as the next iteration of the iPad Air. The new iPhone will allegedly be called the “iPhone 5se,” and both it and the iPad Air 3 will be unveiled at a special Apple event on March 15.

9to5Mac noted that Apple seems to be pursuing a new kind of release strategy for this new slew of products. While the tech giant has previously introduced its products with plenty of lead time before their actual release dates — allowing for massive number of pre-orders to pile up — Apple is leaving a scant three days between the official announcement and market launch. Anonymous sources told 9to5Mac that Apple is most likely going to forgo its preorder stratagem that it’s employed for past releases, although the brand has not settled on a final plan.

Forbes explained that the accelerated release date fits into several of Apple’s plans for the long-term viability of successive iPhones. The timely mid-March release should undercut interest and exposure for the Galaxy S7 devices set to be released around the same time by Samsung, and any boost in sales from Apple’s mobile division will come as welcome dispatches to other departments that are laboring through the post-holiday sales slump.

Of course, all of this supposes that customers are ready to buy yet another iPhone product so soon after the last one was released. At the very least, Apple can always rely on its diehards to drum up some hype.