Apple Blocking Out Vacations for October 14th iPhone 5 Retail Launch?

foto
Sicily Apple Store, Photo courtesy of Valerio.

AppleInsider reports that Apple has started denying vacation requests for employees during the 2nd week of October.

Apple is quietly denying requests for employee vacations during the second week of October, hinting that the company currently anticipates an influx of customers to its stores around that time related to availability of its new iOS 5 and fifth-generation iPhone products.

Specifically, dates from October 9th through 12th and October 14th through 15th are said to be restricted, suggesting Apple plans on launching new products during that time.

The first set of dates from October 9th-12th could represent iOS 5 launch, as Apple has informed AppleCare to expect an influx of support calls starting on October 10th. Coincidentally, Twitter has announced their own developer session in London on the same date. The October 10th Twitter developer session is said to have a "heavy focus on the iOS 5 Twitter integration".

Meanwhile, the 14th to 15th dates suggests that Apple may be preparing for a retail launch of their next generation iPhones on that Friday, the 14th. The timeframe is consistent with other circulating iPhone rumors as well as our knowledge of Apple's expected availability for the White iPod touch.

Apple is expected to hold a media event on October 4th to announce the next generation iPhone as well as the official launch of iOS 5.

Update: UK Apple Stores have been similarly told to block out the "first two weeks of October".

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...

Top Rated Comments

slrandall Avatar
183 months ago
Awww, poor you, having to wait to buy an iPhone, you guys have it so rough. Take a look at the world around you and realize how spoiled you guys sound.

Have you seen your signature?
Score: 99 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kid0 Avatar
183 months ago
Have you seen your signature?

and NAME.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
igazza Avatar
183 months ago
bigger screen equals buy :)
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mgs4 Avatar
183 months ago
im not even gonna buy one and i cant wait to see what it looks like:eek:
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Peace Avatar
183 months ago
This means invites should go out Tuesday.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pooshka Avatar
183 months ago
If it's really killing you, then perhaps you should seek medical attention before you bleed out. :rolleyes:
Awww, poor you, having to wait to buy an iPhone, you guys have it so rough. Take a look at the world around you and realize how spoiled you guys sound.
You two, quit your sarcasm.

You know exactly what they mean. It's been a long wait indeed. For everyone.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)