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iPhone 5 Gets Priced for the UK

By - Source: Apple | B 25 comments

Start saving the pennies now.

Apple yesterday took the wraps off its hotly anticipated new iPhone, the iPhone 5. Last night, Everything Everywhere, parent company of T-Mobile, Orange, and EE, confirmed that both T-Mobile and Orange would be carrying the device from September 21. So, you know where you can get it and when you can get it, but how much will it cost?

 

Though full price details are not yet available, Apple's UK website has the starting price for the iPhone 5 listed online. As you may already be aware, pre-orders for the iPhone 5 are opening up tomorrow, September 14. When they do, you'll be paying from £529 for the phones. Obviously, this is the price for the unlocked phone and you could get it much cheaper if you're willing to enter into a contract with a carrier. If that's the case, subsidies will likely bring the price down to £199 or cheaper. Still, if you're looking for an unlocked iPhone, you'll be paying at least £529 for the privilege. Though Apple doesn't specify, we assume this £529 price tag is for the lowest capacity 16GB model. The company also has a 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 that will cost significantly more.

Specswise, in case you missed the announcement earlier, the iPhone 5 features a 4-inch 326 ppi, 1136 x 640 resolution display, a new Apple A6 SoC, an 8MP camera, improved battery life, 4G LTE, FaceTime over mobile networks, and iOS 6.

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Top Comments
  • 15 Hide
    Anonymous , September 13, 2012 3:45 PM
    getting a phone on contract does not make it cheaper, the remainder of the price is just included in the monthly fee that ur stuck with for years, meaning you will eventually still be paying for an outdated phone which you could have otherwise sold earlier to get some of the money back before it loses most its value. yaaay for marketing and clueless consumers.
Other Comments
  • 4 Hide
    RADIO_ACTIVE , September 13, 2012 3:39 PM
    No thanks I will stick with my GS3
  • 15 Hide
    Anonymous , September 13, 2012 3:45 PM
    getting a phone on contract does not make it cheaper, the remainder of the price is just included in the monthly fee that ur stuck with for years, meaning you will eventually still be paying for an outdated phone which you could have otherwise sold earlier to get some of the money back before it loses most its value. yaaay for marketing and clueless consumers.
  • Display all 25 comments.
  • 4 Hide
    freggo , September 13, 2012 4:09 PM
    "Everything Everywhere, parent company of T-Mobile"

    The parent company of T-Mobile is Germany's "Deutsche Telekom" (100%)

    "Everything Everywhere" is owned by Deutsche Telekom and France Télécom (50/50)


  • 2 Hide
    freggo , September 13, 2012 4:10 PM
    Not that I care, but what happens at the end of the contract; will they 'unlock' your phone are are you still stuck with the same carrier ?
  • 3 Hide
    blazorthon , September 13, 2012 4:24 PM
    articleObviously, this is the price for the unlocked phone and you could get it much cheaper if you're willing to enter into a contract with a carrier.


    It's not cheaper, it's a lot more expensive. You simply pay less up front and far more over the contract's duration.
  • 2 Hide
    busuan , September 13, 2012 4:55 PM
    The "I sell a product cheaper than he" game is too old and imo becomes false in the information era. The real game should have been (and actually has been for the past 5 yrs) "my product has more features for the same price than his". Indeed, $199 is much much more expensive than $99, and $849 is astronomical. However, none of us would hesitate to pay $15,000 for a good brand new car and never thinks for a second that $15,000 is 75x more expensive than the new phone. The key here is budget boundary awareness. For every family, there is the phone budget and the car budget. As long as the phone price does not cross the boundary of its conceived budget and the phone does provide more new features, people will happily pay for it, even $849 occasionally. And clearly, few would pay $9,000 for a phone because that has crossed the budget boundary.
    I would prefer Apple, Samsung and all others fix their prices of new phones at $200-$500 and compete for costumers with more and better features. And I am glad that seems to be the trend.
  • 0 Hide
    the1kingbob , September 13, 2012 5:01 PM
    I think the cheaper comments are true for tmobile( I do not know the others listed), but not true for sprint, at&t, and verizon. Last I checked they don't give a discount for buying a phone outright or charge more for a discounted phone. You pay the same if you sign the contract or not. So, yes cheaper on tmobile if you plan on using it until it dies no if your company doesn't charge different rates.
  • 0 Hide
    blazorthon , September 13, 2012 5:14 PM
    the1kingbobI think the cheaper comments are true for tmobile( I do not know the others listed), but not true for sprint, at&t, and verizon. Last I checked they don't give a discount for buying a phone outright or charge more for a discounted phone. You pay the same if you sign the contract or not. So, yes cheaper on tmobile if you plan on using it until it dies no if your company doesn't charge different rates.


    So you buy the phone yourself from somewhere else (places such as Best Buy often have phones for 20-50% less than buying directly from a carrier's store, just ignore what the employees say about almost everything) and then go to a carrier to get the service.
  • -4 Hide
    acadia11 , September 13, 2012 5:17 PM
    I hate apple but they do make the best looking phone hands down. There stuff is a work of art.
  • 0 Hide
    the1kingbob , September 13, 2012 5:29 PM
    blazorthonSo you buy the phone yourself from somewhere else (places such as Best Buy often have phones for 20-50% less than buying directly from a carrier's store, just ignore what the employees say about almost everything) and then go to a carrier to get the service.


    I bought my phone from bestbuy and had them activate it. I still signed a contract with sprint in the process. I got the phone discounted because I signed a contract not because I went to bestbuy, I could have done the same a sprint store. So it really didn't matter either way where I bought it.

    I pay 100 bucks a month for two phones with unlimited internet. So, $100 for phones + contract = $100/month..... My other option was, $600 for phones w/no contract = $100/month. Sprint doesn't charge different amounts. They do however, charge for termination.
  • 2 Hide
    bllue , September 13, 2012 6:33 PM
    The iTards will gobble it up
  • 0 Hide
    blazorthon , September 13, 2012 6:56 PM
    the1kingbobI bought my phone from bestbuy and had them activate it. I still signed a contract with sprint in the process. I got the phone discounted because I signed a contract not because I went to bestbuy, I could have done the same a sprint store. So it really didn't matter either way where I bought it. I pay 100 bucks a month for two phones with unlimited internet. So, $100 for phones + contract = $100/month..... My other option was, $600 for phones w/no contract = $100/month. Sprint doesn't charge different amounts. They do however, charge for termination.


    I didn't say anything about a discount. Best Buy sells the phones cheaper than the carrier stores sell them for. If I buy a phone from best buy, Newegg, or another such store instead of buying it from a carrier (not counting any contract plan, just outright buying it and then getting service for it) is cheaper. For example, Sprint wanted me to pay something like $250 for a phone (low end Android, buying it outright without contract) and I got the same phone for under $150 at best buy and then brought it to sprint to get service for it.
  • 1 Hide
    saturnus , September 13, 2012 8:05 PM
    Quote:
    Specswise, ... 4G LTE, ...


    Well, not in the UK or most of Europe for that matter. Only the Benelux countries currently offer 4G LTE on any LTE bands the iphone 5 supports. Some other countries will follow eventually but they are a minority as most European countries have reserved LTE band 7 for 4G LTE which the iphone 5 does not support.

    In fact all the major countries in Europe except Germany will not have 4G LTE on any LTE band the iphone 5 supports. Ever. So Europeans looking for 4G LTE will either have to turn to one of Apple rivals, or hope the iphone 5 gets more complete 4G LTE support next year when the iphone 5S will be released (perhaps).
  • 0 Hide
    Hspito , September 13, 2012 8:31 PM
    blazorthonIt's not cheaper, it's a lot more expensive. You simply pay less up front and far more over the contract's duration.


    How does the monthly subscription cost of a smartphone in a 2 year contract compare to the subscription cost of a smartphone without contract?

    Here in US let say in AT&T it cost exactly the same. So it makes more sense to buy whatever smartphone with a 2 year contract since there is no difference in the monthly cost.
  • 0 Hide
    freggo , September 13, 2012 9:55 PM
    hspitoHow does the monthly subscription cost of a smartphone in a 2 year contract compare to the subscription cost of a smartphone without contract? Here in US let say in AT&T it cost exactly the same. So it makes more sense to buy whatever smartphone with a 2 year contract since there is no difference in the monthly cost.


    Only if they unlock it at the end of the contract!
  • 0 Hide
    blazorthon , September 13, 2012 10:03 PM
    hspitoHow does the monthly subscription cost of a smartphone in a 2 year contract compare to the subscription cost of a smartphone without contract? Here in US let say in AT&T it cost exactly the same. So it makes more sense to buy whatever smartphone with a 2 year contract since there is no difference in the monthly cost.


    At least from what I've seen, the contracts are more expensive over that two year period than buying the phone up-front, so it's usually a moot point.
  • -2 Hide
    Hspito , September 13, 2012 10:04 PM
    freggoOnly if they unlock it at the end of the contract!


    in AT&T if i buy a smartphone lets say ill pay $200 + $90 a month for 2 years that is a total of $2,360
    if i buy it without a contract ill pay $500 + $90 a month no contract but in a period of 2 years that is $2660
    the service cost the same regardless the status of the phone. if you stay for 2 years in the same company you end up paying more when you don't sign for a contract.
  • 0 Hide
    Anonymous , September 13, 2012 10:52 PM
    Notice how North American carriers announce carrier pricing, same as UK announcing carrier pricing but the whole thing is fixed on subsidizing/full price instead of a more objective pricing from Apple's MSRP? And how North American business price-fixed on this?

    Subsidizing always end up shorter end of stick since I am using unsubsidized regional carrier and its rate is 1/2 the price double the feature ($30 per month, unlimited everything including data, versus $60 quota'd plan where $20 or more is considered installment pay), half way through this subsidized phone is "so yesteryear" anyway, it is still good in a technical sense but it is ho-hum already.
  • 0 Hide
    Hspito , September 13, 2012 11:12 PM
    asdfenterprisesNotice how North American carriers announce carrier pricing, same as UK announcing carrier pricing but the whole thing is fixed on subsidizing/full price instead of a more objective pricing from Apple's MSRP? And how North American business price-fixed on this?Subsidizing always end up shorter end of stick since I am using unsubsidized regional carrier and its rate is 1/2 the price double the feature ($30 per month, unlimited everything including data, versus $60 quota'd plan where $20 or more is considered installment pay), half way through this subsidized phone is "so yesteryear" anyway, it is still good in a technical sense but it is ho-hum already.


    got it
    well in America there are some companies like that and even that they offer unlimited internet, data and texting, their coverage can't be compare to the bigger companies and in average the unlimited internet is very slow compare to the big companies. so its not that you are getting the service cheaper is more like you are getting a cheaper service(less quality-less money)

    ie sprint offers unlimited internet for a much cheaper price in but the internet speed is around 1mbps and im getting over 7mbps with AT&T on HSPA+
  • 0 Hide
    velosteraptor , September 14, 2012 12:02 PM
    hspito)ie sprint offers unlimited internet for a much cheaper price in but the internet speed is around 1mbps and im getting over 7mbps with AT&T on HSPA+


    But if you go through straight talk with an at&t locked phone, you pay half the price of an at&t plan for unlimited anything, and it runs right on the at&t network at full speed

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