8ta is advertising on its website that it will sell the iPhone 5 from 14 December 2012.
This means that all of South Africa’s mobile network operators will have Apple’s newest smartphone for sale this year.
Vodacom and Cell C have both opened pre-orders for the device, while MTN is promising that its pre-order form will be available soon.
Apple announced on Monday (3 December 2012) that South Africa would be among the over 50 countries to receive the iPhone 5 on 14 December.
The device features a larger display than that of its predecessor (4-inch / 102mm diagonal), and at 7.6mm thick boasts a thinner profile than the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S as well.
iPhone 5
It also has an improved camera, sports Apple’s new “Lightning” connector, and is set to support Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, though it is unlikely to support South Africa’s budding LTE networks at launch.
It’s also worth noting that the iPhone 5 does not support the frequency band (2300MHz) that 8ta is rolling out its LTE network in. 8ta has also indicated that its LTE trial is aimed at a “fixed wireless” use rather than a mobile broadband offering.
8ta did not respond to requests for comment about its iPhone 5 plans.
None of the networks were willing to disclose pricing information either, but the table belowshows what the iPhone 5 costs when bought directly from Apple in the US and some European countries:
| iPhone 5 prices | US | UK | Ireland |
| iPhone 5 16GB | R5,750 ($649) | R7,538 (£529) | R7,849 (€679) |
| iPhone 5 32GB | R6,6,36 ($749) | R8,536 (£599) | R9,121 (€789) |
| iPhone 5 64GB | R7,522 ($849) | R9,960 (£699) | R10,392 (€899) |
| Exchange rates | R8.86/$ | R14.25/£ | R11.56/€ |
| US prices are quoted excluding sales tax while the prices from the UK and Ireleand already include VAT. | |||
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