Businessinsider is reporting a systematic process at Apple to leak news to the media whenever required. While officially Apple maintains a policy of not talking about any unreleased product to the media, when required they do so unofficially in a controlled and planned manner. An ex-Apple exec has spilled the beans about how Apple manipulates the media to get the maximum coverage.
The way it works is that a senior exec will come in and say, “We need to release this specific information. John, do you have a trusted friend at a major outlet? If so, call him/her and have a conversation. Idly mention this information and suggest that if it were published, that would be nice. No e-mails!”
It is estimated that Apple got over $400 million worth of free advertising by just avoiding to speak about the phone until official release.