Apple iPhone 5C Goes Official, The iPhone for Everyone at $99 (Updated)

iPhone 5C
Image credit: The Verge
iPhone 5C
Image credit: The Verge

The much-rumoured, much-leaked iPhone 5C is now official. Apple revealed the colourful new budget iPhone at a special event at the Apple Campus, today. The new phone looks identical to leaked images and videos, as well as case parts recently.


Apple has traditionally released only one model of iPhone per cycle, and slashing the price of the older model to $99. This time round, the Cupertino company is breaking tradition by releasing two phones, the iPhone 5C being the purpose-built budget entry.

iPhone 5C
Image credit: The Verge

While it has a new hard-coated polycarbonate shell in multi colours, the iPhone 5C shares much of its underpinnings with the outgoing iPhone 5 – 4-inch Retina display, dual-core A6 processor, 8MP rear camera. There’s a new FaceTime HD camera though. The iPhone 5S has more LTE bands than any other smartphone in the world, with Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz band support, as well as Bluetooth 4.0.

The iPhone 5C is available in green, white, blue, red and yellow. Apple has also released colourful cases for the new phone. Mix and match as you please.

The iPhone 5C will retail at $99 for 16GB and $199 for 32GB, with telco contract of course. Apple also revealed that iOS 7 will come to iPhones and iPads on September 18. And also added that iWork will come free with all new iOS devices.

Pre-orders start from September 13 for the iPhone 5C.  On September 20, you can purchase both iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and United Kingdom. This marks the first time Apple is releasing the iPhone at the start. 100 other countries across 270 carriers will get the new iPhones in December 2013.

Apple will still offer the iPhone 4S, at 8GB for free.

Image credit: The Verge

Vernon
Vernon is the founder and chief editor of Vernonchan.com. A graphic designer by profession, he has a deep love for technology, cars, gadgets, food, and travel. He tweets too much and is also known as a caffeine bacterium ("life's too short for bad coffee"). Bleeds Blue (go Chelsea FC!) and considers BMW, Porsche, Alfa Romeo cars to have in the garage--hallmarks of a true petrolhead.