AppleInsider Staff
One of the next major markets for Apple to launch the iPhone 5 is India, and a new report claims the latest iPhone will debut there on Oct. 26.
The date was published on Tuesday by BGR India, citing "multiple sources." Oct. 26 would be the last Friday of the month, and Apple usually debuts a new iPhone model on Fridays.
In addition, the iPhone 5 is also expected to have wider availability at launch than previous iPhone debuts in India. The iPhone 5 will also apparently be distributed by Apple directly, rather than through the company's carrier partners.
The iPhone 5 marks the quickest ever launch for an Apple product, becoming available in a total of 31 countries just two weeks after its release. Apple has said it will be available in more than 100 countries with 240 carriers by December, but declined to offer more specifics, particularly on major markets such as India and China.
The iPhone 5 is already available in Hong Kong where demand has been strong. One report this week claimed that mainland China is set to receive the iPhone 5 by December, and carrier China Unicom is said to already be clearing space in its inventory for Apple's latest handset.
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21 Comments
The more, the merrier; but my understanding is that the iPhone has never been much of a block buster in India.
The more, the merrier; but my understanding is that the iPhone has never been much of a block buster in India.
Yes, but that's because it's ridiculously overpriced there, with carriers charging something like $600 for the handset with a contract. (And, lack of 3G outside of the large metros, which Samsung is able to capitalize on with their lower-end phones). People would buy unlocked phones in NYC to take back to India to use.
Since Apple is now planning to distribute it directly, and I hope at the price for an unlocked iPhone that you can get in countries such as the US, I predict it will fly off the shelves. Apple is a huge status symbol in India.
Why launch somewhere else when ppl have to wait a month in markets it allegedly launched ? Create even more backorders ? Ppl in my local Apple retailer laugh at me when i ask them of availability
Yes, but that's because it's ridiculously overpriced there, with carriers charging something like $600 for the handset with a contract. (And, lack of 3G outside of the large metros, which Samsung is able to capitalize on with their lower-end phones). People would buy unlocked phones in NYC to take back to India to use.
Since Apple is now planning to distribute it directly, and I hope at the price for an unlocked iPhone that you can get in countries such as the US, I predict it will fly off the shelves. Apple is a huge status symbol in India.
You should never underestimate the number of wealthy people in India who can easily afford iPhones, in a sea of over a billion there are tens of millions of them.
You should never underestimate the number of wealthy people in India who can easily afford iPhones, in a sea of over a billion there are tens of millions of them.
Yeah, that's sort of what I was meaning. It hasn't really been a "huge" hit, given the potential market.
Here's hoping the iP5 changes that.