Did Best Buy leak the release date of the iPhone 6s?

Best Buy and Apple are taking their friendship to the next level — Apple Care — — and that may provide our strongest hint yet for when Apple will begin selling its next iPhone.

Best Buy is reported to begin selling the AppleCare and AppleCare+ insurance products at its stores beginning the week of Sept. 14, according to 9to5Mac. Given what else Apple is launching right around then, it seems an auspicious date.

Apple has yet to officially announce when it will debut the iPhone 6S, but reports peg the launch event as taking place the week of Sept. 7. That suggests the phone will go on sale later the following week, as has been the case with past iPhone launches.

The fact that Best Buy will begin offering Apple Care the week of Sept. 14 seems to confirm this timeline. Best Buy is the first major retailer — besides Apple themselves — to offer AppleCare. The big box electronics giant was previously hesitant because the service overlaps with its own warranty offerings. Customers who purchase AppleCare at Best Buy will be able to service their devices there or at an Apple store.

The availability of AppleCare comes after Best Buy became the first non-Apple retailer to begin selling the Apple Watch on August 7. The iPhone 6S is said to look mostly identical to the iPhone 6, but will receive a very healthy performance upgrade, force touch, and a better battery life.
Apple will also reportedly be strengthening the iPhone 6S in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last year's so-called "bendgate" scandal.

While we still don't officially know the exact day the updated iPhone will go on sale, we now have a clearer picture than ever.