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First Apple iPhone 5 orders now shipping from China

Customers who were among the first to preorder the iPhone 5 from Apple have begun seeing updates that their orders are shipping from China.

While some iPhone 5 orders are now shipping, the packages are still not scheduled to be delivered until Friday, Sept. 21, which is the product's launch date.

One delivery update from UPS provided to AppleInsider shows that the shipment began its transit on Sunday, Sept. 16. The delivery is now on its way from ZhengZhou, China.

Orders at Apple's website are still listed as "preparing for shipment," but some have been able to track their package by using a reference number, such as a cell phone number tied to the order. By searching the reference number, it can be discovered that the product has in fact already shipped.

In years past, a handful of iPhone preorders have arrived earlier than the product launch date. However, almost all orders typically arrive on the advertised launch date.



88 Comments

tylerk36 15 Years · 1035 comments

Thank you Foxconn Workers.  You have made the people of the United States happy.

lgm313 12 Years · 11 comments

I got the email from apple at 3:20 Easter time, I still have no tracking information, anyone else?

hillmaxwell 12 Years · 4 comments

Mine shipped!! got the tracking number too!

justinkim 15 Years · 7 comments

Got my order confirmation email at 3:07am EDT - no order status update for me yet.

 

The order in which the updates go out may have more to do with where the order's being shipped to than when the order was placed - Apple may be timing the shipments to make sure the orders arrive on the 21st.  

 

Mine is being delivered to NYC, so the total transit time for my order may be less for me than for someone more off the beaten path.