The iPhone 13 launch will usher in other changes to Apple's iPhone lineup?

As good as Apple's current iPhone lineup is — and you'll find several of the models Apple sells among the best Phones — the days are numbered for a few iPhones.

(That said, even if a particular iPhone model drops out of Apple's lineup, you might still be able to find it through a wireless carrier or a retailer.) Or, if you prefer a model that's going to stick around, you could hold off for a few months and grab it once Apple lowers the price.

Last fall's iPhone 12 launch saw Apple drop two phones from its lineup.

So we have a clear pattern — the more expensive phones in Apple's lineup tend to get replaced by more current models.

Apple keeps its iPhone launch plans close to the vest, but the rumor mill is under no such obligation.

Most Apple watchers expect the company to repeat the iPhone 12 launch strategy with this fall's iPhone 13 release — namely, four models at the same sizes and prices as their iPhone 12 counterparts.

As noted, it's widely expected that Apple would keep the same prices for the iPhone 13 models — $699 for the mini, $799 for the standard model, and $999 as the starting point for the Pro versions.

Keeping older Pro models around at reduced prices would potentially cannibalize iPhone 13 Pro sales.

Also, a $799 iPhone 13 and $999 iPhone 13 Pro doesn't really leave much of a slot to fit in an older iPhone 12 Pro model at a reduced price.

The tougher question is whether Apple keeps the iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 mini in its lineup alongside the new iPhone 13 models.

And given the reportedly slow sales of the iPhone 12 mini, that seems like the model to drop. .

In this scenario, the iPhone 12 would stick around, but at a lower $599 price, so that it costs less than the starting price for an iPhone 13 model.

Of course, that would be a $200 price cut off the iPhone 12's current cost — a bit steep, given Apple's recent history of $100 reductions for older iPhones.