iPhone 7 pre-order date tipped for September 9

It doesn't seem like there's much left to know about the iPhone 7 at this point – and that includes the release date.
We'd heard that it would be landing in shops during the week of September 12, and @evleaks (a usually reputable tipster) followed that up by saying it would go on sale on Friday September 16 – and now the same tipster has suggested pre-orders will open on Friday September 9.
That still doesn't tell us when the iPhone 7 will actually be announced. Pre-orders may not open the same day as the announcement, but assuming @evleaks is right it seems very likely that the announcement will happen during that week, which begins on September 5.

Evolution not revolution

Whenever it launches, the iPhone 7 isn't expected to be a huge advance over the iPhone 6 – in fact it might not even be called the iPhone 7, with that name instead reserved for a massive overhaul next year, on the phone's 10-year anniversary.
But there is talk of a waterproof design, a larger camera lens and a lot more power, so the iPhone 7 (if indeed it's called that) could still be worth getting excited about – and the potentially more interesting iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 Pro may be landing alongside it.
Either way, Apple's probably not worrying, as it's just sold its one billionth handset.