Right now, the US online Apple Store displays carrier-specific iPhone 5 delivery dates, citing anywhere from three weeks to four, and performing a search on Apple’s website could reveal the pricing of factory unlocked units that are tipped to arrive at stores in the later part of 2012. This is no hoax, as it has been confirmed independently, and we believe that the alleged unlocked units have yet to be official as they could very well be mere placeholders in Apple’s database. The thing that rouses our suspicion and curiosity alike is this – the prices do seem to jive with similar models that have gone on sale in Canada, as all iPhones sold in the Great White North come unlocked.
Go on, give the query for “iPhone 5 factory unlocked” in the Apple.com search bar. I tried it, and doing so reveals “Apple Store Results” that you can see here. The 16GB model seems to go for $649, while the 32GB model will retail for $749, with the 64GB version being the most expensive of the lot at $849. Folks living in the US do not seem to have the choice for bringing home a factory unlocked version, but it is interesting to note that the CDMA version on offer by Verizon will play nice with the GSM networks of AT&T and T-Mobile.