Apple Leaks Names of New iPhones Before Keynote Announcement

Apple leaking information about their products ahead of a big announcement is no surprise. However, Apple’s own website might be to blame with today’s big leak.

The smartphone maker reportedly added the three new model names -- iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and the iPhone XR -- to the product sitemap XML file. The Verge and All Things How both analyzed the code and found reference to these devices.

But what are these new iPhone iterations? Was it really that long ago that the iPhone 8 and iPhone X were announced? What more could there possibly be beyond facial recognition?

Here are the rumored descriptions of the phones, according to 9 to 5 Mac:

The iPhone XS is the S version of last year’s iPhone X. Expect upgraded internal features but a nearly identical design.

The iPhone XS Max is the Plus version of the XS. Fans can expect a larger screen.

The iPhone XR was supposed to be the iPhone XC in other rumors. This phone is the “budget” option for Apple. It’s expected to use an LCD screen rather than the more expensive OLED screen option.

This isn’t the first leak of an Apple product. Last year, the name of the iPhone X leaked a full week before the keynote. That internal leak was slightly different than them putting the names of the new phones within the website code, but it certainly won’t be the last leak Apple deals with in regard to their products.

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Cybersecurity expert Juris Rapoports told Interesting Engineering in an exclusive interview that a company like Apple should run more internal audits if they really wish to withhold certain information from a nosey public.

“When it comes to such leakages, I am always a bit skeptical because you never know if it is a commercial move or a real leak. But in the case that it is “real” it looks like a typical misconfiguration that would indicate several security audits need to be added to their calendar,” said Rapoports, a Senior Security Lead at cybersecurity firm X Infotech.

The keynote address will take place on September 12 at 10 a.m. PST. Interesting Engineering will be covering those updates as they happen.