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Sales rush on iPhone 5 won't stop before Christmas

The iPhone 5, which arrived on British shores on Friday 21st September, smashed all previous smartphone pre-order records, with a whopping two million units sold just 24 hours after pre-order sales opened. That’s double the pre-order sales of iPhone 4S, which sold one million units in its first 24 hours.

Financial analysts have predicted that the phone could sell between six to ten million units this month, with a further sales rush expected in the run-up to Christmas.

iPhone 5 is Apple’s thinnest, lightest phone yet, and has a larger display and a faster chip. It also boasts an 8MP iSight camera which improves the quality of photographs taken in low-light and allows for faster picture-taking. The smartphone is also wired for 4G connectivity, which will allow for ultrafast wireless internet giving speeds rivalling current broadband connections.

Apple’s commitment to consistently improving the design of its smartphones means iPhone 5 is 18% thinner and 20% lighter than the iPhone 4/4S and features a longer 4” display. The phone’s screen was expanded to make it more comfortable to hold in your hand and operate with your thumb. The device is encased in glass and aluminium and, like previous models, comes in two colours, black and white..

The phone is available to buy from high street mobile phone stores from Friday 21st September and will cost £529 for a 16GB SIM-free model, £599 for a 32GB SIM-free model and £699 for a 64GB SIM-free model.

Depending on your contract terms, high street mobile phone stores such as Carphone Warehouse will allow you to trade in your iPhone 4/4S to upgrade to iPhone 5. Deals are available from £46 per month for the 16GB model, £21 per month plus an upfront cost for the 32GB model and £25 per month plus an upfront cost for the 64GB version. Mobile phone stores are offering better value deals on iPhone 5 than iPhone 4 to entice customers to trade in and upgrade their phones.

Battery life on iPhone 5 is also said to be better, with Apple promising 225 hours' standby time on iPhone 5 against 200 on iPhone 4S. iPhone 5 will also have more 3G browsing and talk time (eight hours vs six hours), plus a colossal eight hours of 4G use.

Among other announcements, Apple said the new iPhone 5 would integrate Facebook into its operating system. Users will be able to deliver status updates to their Facebook page using their voice, via Siri, and songs and videos in the iTunes store on the phone will have Facebook’s ‘like’ buttons.