Apple iPhone5 to hit UAE this month; Price: Dh2,500-Dh3,500

Published Sunday, September 09, 2012

By Joseph George

Apple’s new iPhone will have the same price range as the existing iPhone4S, but will ship to the UAE faster than expected.

Industry sources within the electronic retail stores in the UAE say they have already prepared plans for shipping the new iPhone into the country as soon as the new phones are released in the United States.

Although the new phone will be announced on Wednesday, September 12, the phone will not go on sale until September 21.

“Although pre-orders are expected to start immediately after the announcement this week, the new phones will hit the market only later this month.

“The phones will reach the UAE within three to four days and start selling immediately,” said Bittu Jethani of Sheeba Electronics.

The official launch of the new phone in the UAE, could however, be delayed.

The launch of the new iPhone holds more significance for the UAE customers as it is expected to be equipped with 4G LTE that could well work with the 4G broad bands offered by both etisalat and du.

SIM cards set

Meanwhile, UAE telecom operators have confirmed that they are prepared to roll out the new SIM cards by the time the new Apple phones hit the UAE market.

The SIM card slot in the new iPhone is expected to be much smaller compared the existing micro SIM and most US and European operators have already stockpiled enough SIM cards ahead of the launch.

A recent statement from du said, "We do not have an official confirmation on future devices using a Nano SIM. However, in the interest of our customers, we have proactively tested the Nano SIM and are able to offer it should there be any future requirement."

The new iPhone is expected to have the same price range as the iPhone 4S and sell at Dh2,599 for 16GB, Dh2,999 for 32Gb and Dh3,399 for 64GB.

Meanwhile, analysts have predicted the new phone would sell much faster compared to the iPhone 4S or any other phone during the first week.

Quoting Piper Jaffray analyst at Gene Munster projects CNet has reported that the iPhone 5 would sell anywhere from 6 million to 10 million during the first week and reach about 26 million units by the end of the month.

Last year, Apple had sold 4 million iPhone 4S units during the first three days after launch.

ALSO READ:

Two days on... Emirati boy still missing in River Nile; Desperate family blames 'callous' crew

Hot jobs in UAE: Sectors that hired most in first half of 2012