[zweben]

I think the release of the bumper case is much more likely because the iPhone now has twice as many glass surfaces, and those glass surfaces are not guarded from direct impact by a metal bezel like on the previous iPhones. If Apple expected reception problems before release they could've just bumped back the release date.

[moe]

those glass surfaces are not guarded from direct impact by a metal bezel

Sure. Because the previous iPhones were built like tanks and... oh, wait. They weren't either.

To me those two "coincidences" look more like exercises in damage control as the RMA flood kicks in.