Apple may launch iPhone 5 in India on November 2

It was speculated that the iPhone 5 will be launched in India on October 26. However, a recent report by BGR.in states that the highly anticipated iPhone 5 will be available in India from November 2 this year.

As per the report, the author Rajat Agrawal states, “Truth be told, a source had warned us initially that the exact launch date was “fluid” but we had more credible sources, who have proven to be accurate in the past for iPhone launches in India, backing October 26 as the “launch” date. All our sources, including the one that called the launch date fluid, still maintain the “announcement” will indeed happen on October 26. Apple could possibly announce the list of countries where the iPhone 5 is launching next at its iPad mini launch event tomorrow, but we are a little sceptical about that happening. However, the iPhone 5 will be available in India only on November 2, we are told.”

iPhone 5 may not launch in India on October 26

The author highlights that the reason behind this is the slashing of the price of the iPhone 4S in India. First, the price of the 16GB handset was reduced to Rs 41,500, and then roughly 10 days later got reduced even further to Rs 38,500. This could indicate that Apple had still not finalised the pricing of the iPhone 5 in India, hence the delay.

Another plausible explanation to the delay is the shortage in supply of the iPhone 5 due to Apple employing stricter quality controls. The iPhone 5, though a booming success the world over, has been plagued with various issues such as scratches found on the handset straight out of the box and a purple haze that appears with images clicked by the camera.

However, the grey market is flooded with the iPhone 5 priced at a premium.

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.