Mark Gurman from 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple currently plans to start iPhone 5 pre-orders on September 30, and further that their independent sources match what TiPb heard about the actual launch date currently being scheduled for October 7. (They also heard, like we did, that this was moved up from a previous October 14 date).
Apple currently plans to begin pre-orders for their next-generation smartphone in the final days of September. The company has still not finalized the pre-order start date, but is debating between Thursday, September 29th and Friday, September 30th. The 30th seems more likely at this point according to one of our sources. Pre-orders for the new iPhone starting in late September will also mean that Apple’s fall event will take place in September; which would seem to counter NewsCorp’s Kara Swisher’s combative insistence of an October iPhone 5 event.
It's once again worth noting that since Apple is so secretive, they can and will change launch dates up until the last possible minute in order to best meet production and marketing needs. So don't go engraving these dates in aluminum just yet -- just jot them down in Calendar for now.
[9to5Mac]
