New iPhone 11 release date, price, news and leaks

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The iPhone 11 release date won't be until September, but there's already a lot of interest in the next new iPhone and what Apple may have in store for us later this year.

The new iPhone 11 is set to be a bigger upgrade than the incremental iPhone XS, although we don't expect the new iPhone to re-invigorate Apple's smartphone line as it was only recently rebooted by the iPhone X in 2017.

However, with news that Apple isn't selling as many iPhones as previously forecast, perhaps the iPhone 11 will offer a more affordable tack on the firm's famous flagship.

The iPhone 11 launch date is today, September 12, which means there really isn't long until we find out exactly what Apple has in store for us.

With three iPhones launched in 2018, we expect Apple to repeat the trifecta this year with the iPhone 11 possibly launching alongside the iPhone 11 Max and the iPhone 11R (names TBC).

So what new features will the iPhone 11 have, and will it still have a notch? Let's investigate what we expect from Apple's next flagship iPhone.

• What does the iPhone 11 need to improve? Read our in-depth iPhone XS review

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The iPhone 11 will be Apple's next flagship
• When is it out? Launch is likely to be mid-September 2019
• What will it cost? Likely no more than last year's iPhone XS

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The new iPhone 11 could end up looking similar to the iPhone XS

New iPhone 11 leaks and latest news

It may still be many months away, but new iPhone 11 leaks have started to slowly appear on the web.

One report points to the inclusion of Sony's next-gen 3D sensors in the new iPhone, which could in turn offer quicker face unlock, better Portrait mode depth sensing and some potentially cool 3D modelling features and Augmented Reality (AR) implementations.

Meanwhile, another iPhone 11 leak suggests the new handsets, and its potentially new siblings, could support input from the Apple Pencil that currently only works with iPads.

Apple usually introduces a new chipset with its new iPhone launches, and the A13 chip is being touted for the iPhone 11, with analysts claiming a manufacturer is already lined up to produce the A13 chip.

New iPhone 11 release date

• iPhone 11 launch date: Mid-September 2019
• iPhone 11 pre-order date: Mid- September 2019
• iPhone 11 release date: Late September 2019

The iPhone 11 launch date may well be a little later than previous years, as Europe's biggest tech show, IFA 2019 in Berlin, is set to run from September 6-11 this year - which may see Apple defer its new iPhone launch to the following week.

That means we could be looking at a potential iPhone 11 launch date of either September 17 or September 18, depending on whether Apple plumps for a Tuesday or Wednesday - both days have been used in recent years.

Apple hasn't launched an iPhone this late since 2011, when it announced the iPhone 4S on October 4, and we fully expect the Cupertino, California based firm to stick with a September arrival for the new iPhone in 2019.

As for the iPhone 11 pre-order date, Apple tends to open them on the Friday following the launch, which would be September 20 by our calculations.

Finally, the new iPhone 11 release date - the day when you'll actually be able to get your hands on the handset for the first time - could be just a week after the pre-orders open, so September 27 if our analysis is correct.

These dates could quite easily shift though, and we wouldn't be surprised if Apple followed more recent tradition and launch the new iPhone 11 on September 10.

New iPhone 11 price

• iPhone 11 price likely to start around $999 (£999, AU$1,579)
• There could be a new price strategy

Even without the official iPhone 11 price, we know it'll cost a lot. After all, Apple priced the iPhone XS and iPhone X starting at $999 (£999, AU$1,579). We could see identical prices for the iPhone 11.

With news that Apple isn't selling as many iPhones as it previously forecast, there's a chance the iPhone 11 price will offer a more affordable look - although we reckon a price freeze, rather than a reduction, is a more likely move by Apple.

It could mean good news for the successor to the well-received iPhone XR, with the main complaint about the first handset being it was still a little steep price-wise. If Apple can reduce the price on the iPhone 11R, it may help soften a lofty iPhone 11 price tag.

New iPhone, iPhone 11 or iPhone XI?

What will Apple call the new iPhone 11? It's a puzzling conundrum and there are a variety of different options for Apple to potentially pick from.

It seems Apple has backed itself into somewhat of a naming corner with the recent XS, XS Max and XR monikers - so where does it go from here?

Will it stick to roman numerals, revert back to traditional digits, or ditch them all together? At this stage, with sparse new iPhone leaks around, nothing is off the table.

At this moment in time, we're seeing most of you searching for 'new iPhone', and that's a strong contender. Apple has already ditched numbered increments for Mac, Macbooks, TV and iPads, so new iPhone would be a logical next step.

However, the numbers are a great way to easily distinguish new devices from old, so both iPhone 11 and iPhone XI are very much in the running. Apple never did give us an iPhone 9 though - with the iPhone 8 the final digit before the 'X' revolution - so going back to '11' may look a little odd.

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The iPhone XS and XS Max are great, but there's still room for improvement

New iPhone 11: what we want to see

The iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are great smartphones, but there's always room for improvement and human nature desires more every time - which means Apple needs to shake a few things up.

Here at TechRadar we like to think of the whole tech community as one great, big family who help each other out, so we've come up with a few upgrades we reckon would go down a treat on the new iPhone. 

1. No notch (or, at least, a smaller one)

Love it or hate it, the notch has taken the smartphone world by storm, with a sharp influx in the design aesthetic after the arrival of the iPhone X - however it seems many of the competition have already surpassed Apple's implementation.

The Apple notch is distinctive thanks to its size, but that's also its Achilles heel. It takes up a large amount of space along the top of the screen while we seen Android makers bring us dew-drop screens which are only as big a single front facing camera.

What's preventing the notch from simply being ditched is all the tech Apple has crammed into it, and to remove it completely could mean a loss of some features - such as Face ID.

Apple can probably relocate the microphone, proximity sensor and speaker, which in turn may see a reduction in size of the notch - which would be a step in the right direction.

But, no notch would be the killer look - with a clean, elegant design that will surely turn heads.

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The notch is big... imagine if it wasn't there on the new iPhone

2. A new design

The current design of the XS and XS Max is fantastic - solid, premium and sleek, it's one of the most desirable looks on the market, so is it cheeky of us to ask for something new? We don't think so.

Apple's used the same design for the past two generations, and to avoid the new iPhone 11 being branded another incremental update, a fresh new look would help.

If Apple does ditch the notch as we've so very kindly asked for above, that would be the first step towards a new design, but we'd like to see it go further,

It's already removed the headphone jack and home button, so our focus is now on the alert slider, volume buttons and power key. 

We've seen HTC and Google implement squeezable sides on their phones, and if Apple can hone this technology to make it even more user friending it could be the end of any physical button or switch on the handset.

3. Better battery life

We say this ever year, but the fact remains that iPhones still aren't the strongest performers when it comes to battery life.

The iPhone XS provided an improvement in battery over the iPhone X, but as we noted in our review, it's still "a long way from the best on the market."

It's time Apple really got to grips with battery life, giving the new iPhone 11 a power pack that will see it comfortably through one day and into the next without a panic about finding a charger overnight.

Battery technology isn't going to give us the multiple days of battery life we saw from feature phones back in the early 2000s, but an iPhone that could stretch to two days from a single charge would really get people talking.

4. eSIM only

The latest round of iPhones (the XS and co.) offer dual SIM capabilities, but they can only hold one physical SIM. That's because the other one is an eSIM, which is built into the handset and can be assigned to a network upon activation.

Having to slide a SIM card into a new phone feels rather old fashioned in 2019, so we'd like to see the physical card ditched in favor of a dual eSIM setup in the new iPhone 11.

We'd also want an easy to use setting that allows us to easily jump onto a network of our choosing at a tariff of our choice and, more importantly, be able to easily switch to a different network when our current deal expires.

Plus, it would also mean the removal of the SIM tray, allowing for a sleeker design and potentially freeing up some precious additional space inside the handset for new features (or more battery!).

This is only partly on Apple however, as carriers around the world would have to fully support eSIM technology and at the moment only a handful do so.

However, with the introduction of 5G in 2019 and the presence of eSIM already inside one generation of iPhone, this ask isn't totally out of the question.

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