Apple dismisses rumours of iPhone 5 India launch

It was speculated that Apple will launch the iPhone 5 in India on October 26, 2012. This news was first broken by BGR that had cited multiple sources to support it. However, a report by FirstPost now states that an Apple spokesperson FirstPost contacted said that e iPhone5 is not scheduled to launch in India yet.

As per the report, the authors at Firstpost contacted Apple asking if the launch date was accurate. They then received an email response which stated, “We have no announcement to make at the moment on a launch or price of the iPhone 5 in India. There is speculation in media and we don’t comment on speculation”.

Apple refuses to comment on the iPhone 5 launch in India

However, this response should come as no surprise. Apple has never commented on rumours or speculations the world over. So this could still mean that the iPhone 5 launch may take place on October 26, and Apple will comment on it only after it makes an official announcement.

The report by BGR states that its sources have confirmed that Apple is preparing to launch the iPhone 5 in India on the last Friday of this month, which is October 26. BGR adds that Apple will distribute the iPhone 5 in India on its own rather than rely on its carrier partners.

Here is a quick look at the highlighted features of the iPhone 5:

• 4-inch, 326ppi Retina display at 1136 x 640 pixels,
• GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, LTE and Wi-Fi
• GPS
• Bluetooth
• 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD recording, 720p front-facing camera
• 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions

Made entirely out of aluminium and glass, the iPhone 5 weighs 112 grams, and is 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S, and is the thinnest iPhone yet at 7.6mm. Apple has chosen to debut iOS 6 with the iPhone 5. The new OS includes Apple's own Maps app, an updated version of Siri and lots more. Overall, the new iPhone has been upgraded in almost all respects.

One of the biggest changes to iOS is the addition of Apple’s own Maps app in the place of Google Maps. The new Maps app has a built-in search for local points of interest, with over 100 million possible suggestions. Other features of the Maps app include navigation, routing, 3D maps, satellite imagery – that wraps around the 3D maps – and the ability to get directions directly through Siri. Most of the standard features of the Maps app, including satellite view, are available in almost all countries the iPhone ships to.

Siri has also been updated and new features include support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari and Maps; and Shared Photo Streams via iCloud.

Safari has also received a major update – the ability to go full screen on the device by touching the arrows on the corners. Another major feature of the new Safari app is the ability to sync tabs between the desktop and iOS versions of Safari. This new feature is called iCloud Tabs. The new Mail app has also received some updates, including the ability to mark people as VIPs and the ability to flag certain mails for follow-ups.

The handset is already selling quite freely in the grey market in India, but at a premium. According to our sources, the 16GB version of the iPhone 5 is available for Rs 58,000, the 32GB model for Rs 64,000, and the 64GB one for Rs 71,000, in the grey market.

One can expect the iPhone5 to retail at the same price at which the iPhone 4S was launched, if or when it is officially launched here.