Pre-Orders for Next-Generation iPhone to Begin September 12?

iMore, which was the first source to claim that Apple will be holding its media event to introduce the next-generation iPhone on September 12, now reports that pre-orders for the device will begin on that same date ahead of the already-rumored first wave of launches on September 21.

Apple's first launch wave typically includes the United States and perhaps a half dozen other countries, and iMore notes that the second wave of launches that will bring the device to additional countries is scheduled for the first week of October.

We've since learned that iPhone 5 pre-orders are currently planned to begin that same day, at least in the U.S. Release is still planned for 9 days later, on September 21, 2012. We've also learned that the second wave of iPhone launches, the ones in international markets, will begin in the first week of October, likely October 5.

The report notes that this sequence of events will be similar but not identical to last year's, which saw the iPhone 4S introduced on October 4 and pre-orders begin three days later on October 7. The iPhone launched in the United States and six other countries on October 14, with the second wave bringing the device to over 20 additional countries two weeks later.