Unlocked iPhone 5 not available in US at launch, to start at $649

Apple’s recently launched iPhone 5 surely packs in a lot of features and would make most Apple fans water at the mouth. But it is available in the US only via three carriers: AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. For people with connections on other carriers or with GSM connections, an unlocked version of the iPhone is the only way out. But if you’re looking to buy an unlocked iPhone 5, here’s some good news for you: Apple’s website now shows the pricing for the unlocked version of the newest iPhone.

As first noticed by TechCrunch, the Apple website shows the pricing as $649 for the 16 GB version, $749 for the 32GB version, and $849 for the high-end 64GB version. However, The Verge reports that the unlocked version won’t be available for at least a few weeks in the US. Unlike the locked version of the iPhone 5, the unlocked phones can’t even be pre-ordered starting today. What’s more, they won’t be available when the iPhone 5 hits Apple retail stores on September 21. However, as the iPhone sells unlocked in Canada, residents of the country can order it from day one.

Unlocked version won't be available for some weeks now

However, $649 for a 16GB smartphone is a lot of money, especially if you’re in the US and already on a contract with some other carrier. Choosing which model is particularly important as Apple has three versions of the device with overseas LTE support. Make sure you check for the right model before you leap for the iPhone 5.

Made entirely out of aluminium and glass, the iPhone 5 weighs a mere 112 gm and is 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S, and is the thinnest iPhone yet at 7.6mm thick. Armed with a 4-inch, 326ppi retina screen at a resolution of 1136 x 640 pixels, it’s the same width, but taller. Apple has chosen to debut iOS 6 with the iPhone 5 and 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.

However, the new iPhone doesn't have NFC and Apple has not mentioned anything about using Bluetooth 4.0 for NFC-like pairing facilities. And you don't have wireless charging or microUSB support either.

The touchscreen and display of the iPhone 5 have been integrated together, so the screen is slimmer and sharper, with less glare in sunlight, 44 percent better colour saturation and full sRGB rendering. It’s got a similar antenna to the iPhone 4S – a dynamic antennae that can automatically switch connections - and supports GPRS, EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE. It has a single chip for voice and data, and a single radio chip. It has a dual-channel Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n adapter with a maximum speed of 150 Mbps over both channels.

The camera here is the same as the one found on the iPhone 4S, but is thinner, has an 8 megapixel sensor with sapphire lens crystal cover, backside illumination, a Hybrid IR filter and an aperture of f/2.4. It has a dynamic low light mode that evaluates nearby pixels to give up to 2 f-stops, which results in greater low light performance.