Apple confirms four new iPhones, and a nasty surprise for iPhone 12 owners
It's amazing how much information can leak in advance of a new product release from filings. FCC filings are particularly good sources of information.
The filing under scrutiny here is for an updated version of the MagSafe charger, and it offers up some surprising details.
Also: iPhone 13: Sept. 14 event, release date, features, specs, and rumors
First off, we get confirmation that the charger is a 15W unit. I'd been hearing sketchy rumors that Apple might boost the power output to offer faster charging, but the filing claims a maximum power output of 15W.
The filing also lists new iPhones.
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Four new iPhones, to be precise.
It is highly likely that these correspond to the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro Max (model numbers are reported to be A2628, A2645, A2634, and A2640 respectively).
The filing also has RF testing data for iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max, and these are all labeled at "legacy." This points to the likelihood of the 12 line being discontinued as soon as the iPhone 13 line is out (this wording on similar FCC filings in the past, as well as how Apple has refreshed the iPhone line in previous years).
It's possible that the iPhone 12 base model may take over from the iPhone 11 as a stop gap in the line, but there have been speculation that Apple is planning to tidy up and streamline the iPhone lineup in order to focus production on the newer handsets and keep the constraints mentioned in the last financial earnings call to a minimum.
Rather shocking downgrade for a product that Apple continues to list as "new" on its website.