Backing up a report from TiPb last week claiming that Apple is shooting for an October 7th launch of the iPhone 5, 9 to 5 Mac now reports that it is hearing similar information. According to source, Apple is reportedly planning to begin pre-orders for the iPhone 5 on September 29th or 30th, with the actual launch scheduled for either October 7th or 14th.
According to our sources, Apple has been weighing between launching the new iPhone on October 7th or October 14th, but with the product’s latest stages of pre-mass-production currently moving along nicely, Apple is presently shooting towards a launch on the 7th. On top of this, unlike with the iPad 2, Apple plans to offer pre-orders for the new iPhone.
Apple currently plans to begin pre-orders for their next-generation smartphone in the final days of September. The company has still not finalized the pre-order start date, but is debating between Thursday, September 29th and Friday, September 30th. The 30th seems more likely at this point according to one of our sources.
The report comes with strong caveats that Apple's launch plans are a constantly shifting target and that things could change at any time, but expresses confidence that these are indeed the dates Apple is currently shooting for.
With pre-orders coming at the very end of September, that milestone would presumably be preceded by a media event to introduce the new iPhone and other hardware such as new iPods. While there has been a considerable amount of back-and-forth about whether Apple will bring out the new iPhone in September or October, some of the more mainstream reports have been adamant about an October launch. Complicating the issue is the fact that an introductory media event, possible pre-order start date, and product availability can all occur on separate dates over a period of several weeks, and few reports have specified exactly which, if not all, of those three events they are referring to with their timeframe claims.
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