iPhone 5 Release Date: Where to Pre Order, How Much Will iPhone Cost, and Your Complete Run Down

Culture
By Chris Miles

Apple fans, rejoice! The new iPhone 5 has been announced, and now you can have your very own complete with a 4-inch retina display and a super Siri buddy to go along with it … if you have the cash.

The prices for the new iPhone 5 models range like this: 16GB for $199, 32GB for $299, $399 for 64GB for a two-year contract. You can start to pre-order this Friday, Sept 14. They’re shipping one week later, September 21.

Friday will likely be a feeding frenzy.

Trusted Reviews reports:

"Apple is reportedly upping its staff to coincide with the Friday timing for the iPhone 5 pre-order. This is in-line with what happened last year at the iPhone 4S launch — the pre-order went live on the Friday following the unveiling rather than right after the event. The Apple online sales support team will increase in numbers from 6:00AM EST on Friday, with the larger team to stay in the Apple nerve centre throughout the day to cope with the demand. This rumour comes from the usually-reliable MacRumors, presumably sourced from a tipster within the Apple ranks." 

The new iPhone 5 features a 4-inch Retina display running at 1136 x 640resolution. Yes, that's a bit taller in terms of pixels than the iPhone 4S, but falls behind today's Android 1280 x 720 smartphones. Pixel density remains impressive at 326ppi.

As PolicyMic tech expery Wyn Hou reports: The iPhone 5, measuring 7.6mm in thickness and weighing 20% less at 112 grams in weight, is the thinnest and lightest iPhone that Apple has ever made.

The iPhone 5 is constructed entirely out of aluminum and glass, much more sturdy materials than plastics used by competitor smart phones. The device shown by Phill Shiller on stage is comparable to all the leaks and rumored photos, nearly identical in some cases. Looks like "doubling down on security" definitely didn't work out for Apple after all.

Also new is the 4-inch display. The new screen resolution is stated at 1136 x 640, simply a 16:9 version of the iPhone 4 screen. Apple has updated its own software to fit the new height of the screen detailing a 5 row of icons and extra email and calendar space.

There is also LTE connectivity, with a single chip and radio. Apple also describes it antenna technology to be "dynamic", which remains to be seen what that really means. Sprint, Verizon and AT&T are on the board for LTE support, while in Canada, Rogers, Bell, Koodo and Telus.

The A6 Processor in the new iPhone 5 has double the speed and double the graphics power of the iPhone 4. Certainly enabling more graphically intensive games and faster productivity.

The company has also unveiled the iPhone 5's brand new TKTK iSight camera. According to The Verge, "The iPhone 4S' camera was considered to be the best in class when it launched last year, and the new camera on the iPhone 5 is no different. Where the iPhone 4S camera featured a f/2.4 aperture, five-element lens and backside illuminated sensor, the camera on the iPhone 5 has a smaller, but similar camera."

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to properly cite language that was originally used without attribution to TrustedReviews.com and The Verge. We apologize to our readers for this violation of our basic editorial standards. Mic has put in place new mechanisms, including plagiarism detection software, to ensure that this does not happen in the future.