The iPhone 9 may be revealed to the world this week, based on shipments of compatible cases to U.S. retailers. Some predicted that it could be released as early as today, March 31, but it now appears that it could be released anytime between April 1 and April 5.

The source told 9to5Mac about the leak, and he sent Best Buy a photo of an Urban Armor case designed for the "New iPhone 4.7", 2020" (shown below). Rumors suggest that the iPhone 9 will be based on the iPhone 8 with a 4.7" display, so it is safe to assume that this is the model to which this description refers.

This ambiguous name is likely due to the uncertainty of what Apple will call the new budget device, with rumors oscillating between iPhone 9 and iPhone SE 2. The low-cost iPhone SE was the predecessor to this new handset and featured a 4-inch display.

We expected the iPhone 9 to debut in March, but that was before the coronavirus pandemic broke out and threw the world into turmoil. Earlier rumors said that Apple had already started mass production and would not miss the deadline, but getting those devices from production facilities in Asia to the rest of the world is a major challenge at this point.

However, the fact that case manufacturers are shipping ancillary products with sufficient confidence is an interesting sign. Urban Armor and other case makers are not going to let their inventory sit in retail warehouses for years in case Apple makes a move.

9to5Mac's sources claim that stores won't be able to sell cases until April 5, but since that's Sunday it might be assumed that the iPhone 9 will be revealed this week.

One rumor claimed that it would be revealed on March 31 and sold on April 3, which could mean that the iPhone 9 will be announced today. This is not the most reliable rumor we have seen, but it may turn out to be more accurate than expected.

If the iPhone 9 does appear, it will come in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch versions, run on Apple's latest A13 Bionic CPU, have a single rear camera, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor (possibly on the side of the phone), and be priced from about $400 to price is expected.