One of the questions we are most asked is when will we see a release for the Apple iPhone 5 but of course until Apple chooses to confirm this it’s one of those questions we just can’t answer. However today we have heard that an August 7 iPhone 5 release date is being touted and it’s fair to say this has taken us by surprise.
Until recently there have been two distinct schools of thought among those in the tech world about a launch timeframe for the iPhone 5. There were those who thought it would be unveiled at WWDC in June with a release shortly afterwards and then others who felt a fall release was more likely. We have always thought it more likely that it will appear in the fall, around a year after the arrival of the iPhone 4S and after there was no mention of it at WWDC a fall release looked certain, but news today that an August 7 iPhone 5 release date is being touted has surprised us.
We did recently hear rumors that the iPhone 5 release could be brought forward to August because of pressure to take advantage of the lucrative back-to-school market so maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised to see an August 7 release written in black-and-white. However the same pressure would have applied last year for the iPhone 4S and there was also the same competition from Samsung’s latest Galaxy S phone last year with the Galaxy S2 and this time round the Galaxy S3, so we’re not altogether convinced.
Nevertheless a report on Know Your Mobile pronounces that the official release date of the iPhone 5 has been revealed as August 7th, which on the face of it sounds pretty clear. However the source of the report is described as “a reliable industry source” who” (as usual with this kind of information) “wishes to remain anonymous.” Therefore we are not claiming that this release date is official but of course feel we should pass the date on to our many readers who are waiting for news on this. Another detail from the reports says that the iPhone 5 will be ‘announced’ with a keynote speech on that date rather than ‘released’ so we’re not altogether sure whether the source is saying it will be announced and released on August 7 or just unveiled with a release later.
It has to be said that the wording of the report is quite ambiguous but then the same site also seems certain enough of its information to say that they will be covering the announcement live on August 7 so they’re sure even if we’re less certain. We know that many of you would love this information to be accurate but what are your thoughts on this. Do you think there could really only be 3 or 4 weeks until we see an iPhone 5 release? Are you willing to believe the August 7 ‘release date’ or do you still think a fall release is more probable? Let us know with your comments.