The annual ritual of pretending we won't upgrade is upon us, and this year the rumor mill is working overtime.
Word on the supply-chain street says Apple is finally ready to ditch the notch for good, shoving the front camera under the display like it's been reading our collective complaints for seven years.
If the leaks hold up, the Pro models get a true edge-to-edge screen with no weird black bite taken out of the top.
That's the dream Apple has been teasing since the iPhone X, and honestly, it's about time.
The regular models, because Apple loves a caste system, will reportedly keep some version of the Dynamic Island so you can feel poor in style.
The bigger chatter centers on a variable aperture camera system, which is a fancy way of saying your photos might stop looking like they were shot through a foggy Tupperware lid.
Samsung has played with this for a while, so Apple is showing up fashionably late to a party it will somehow claim to have invented.
Battery life rumors are, as always, "significantly improved," which is tech-speak for "we added 200 milliamp-hours and a new marketing name." There's also talk of a thinner chassis, because nothing says premium like a phone that bends if you look at it wrong while wearing tight jeans.
Every credible leak points to another bump, because apparently the titanium wasn't expensive enough.
If you're still financing a phone from three cycles ago, congratulations, you're the target demographic and you know it.
The smart play here is patience, which nobody on the internet has.
Your current phone almost certainly still works, and the resale value of whatever you're holding will crater the second Tim Cook walks on stage in his sensible sneakers.
The real question isn't whether the new iPhone is impressive.
It's whether "impressive" is worth a monthly payment that could cover a decent gym membership you also won't use.
So enjoy the rumor season, screenshot the leaked renders, and argue with strangers about bezels.
When the actual announcement drops, you'll have roughly eleven minutes to decide your entire financial personality for the next two years. **The take:** Apple will sell a gazillion of these regardless of what's in them, and we'll all act surprised.
The notch removal is genuinely welcome, but the price hike is the only leak I fully believe.
Final Thoughts
Buy it if your current phone is dying, skip it if you just want the dopamine hit.