SA's two biggest mobile operators - Vodacom and MTN - have both confirmed Apple's new iPhone handsets will be available in store as of 15 November, and have opened pre-registration portals on their Web sites.
On Friday, Vodacom was the first to put a date to the launch with a tweet: "Drum roll please...iPhone 5S and 5C will be here 15 Nov! RT if you heard it from Vodacom first. More info when we have it." (sic)
This comes a week after the red operator broke the silence that Apple is known to keep following new product launches and local details. At the time, details were still vague, with the operator saying only that the high-end iPhone 5S and its cheaper, plastic version, the iPhone 5C, would hit Vodacom's shelves "soon".
This morning, MTN confirmed the same launch date: "MTN today announced it will offer [the] iPhone 5S, the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world, and iPhone 5C, the most colourful iPhone yet, to customers beginning on 15 November 2013. Customers may pre-register interest today at https://shop.mtn.co.za/crs/browse/productFilter.jsp?brand=Apple."
While no pricing details have been given yet, Apple has given the following prices for the iPhone 5S: $649 for the 16GB model, $749 for the 32GB model, and $849 for the 64GB model.
The iPhone 5C, meanwhile, has been viewed with scepticism from analysts, who say the expected price tag of between R6 500 and R7 500 does not make it the emerging market answer Apple intended it to be.
Last week, Cell C said it would make the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C devices "available the same time as the other networks".
Telkom Mobile has not provided further details since last week, when it confirmed it would offer both the iPhone 5S and 5C. "Details regarding when the devices will be available, and the pricing, will be announced soon."
UPDATE: Telkom Mobile announced on Friday, 8 November, that it would also make the iPhone 5S available as of 15 November. "Customers can pre-register interest today, from 15:30 onwards, by clicking on the iPhone 5S banner on [the Telkom Mobile Web site]," the company said.
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