The launch of this autumn’s new iPhone models is fast approaching (we’re increasingly convinced that it’ll happen on 13 October), and we’re getting into the final sprint on the rumours front.
The latest talk is that more countries than usual will be part of the initial iPhone 12 launch roll-out, presumably because the whole thing has already been postponed; there’s less of a window to squeeze later launches in before the crucial holiday buying period starts.
As part of its staggered roll-out, the iPhone 11 launched in a total of 30 countries simultaneously on 20 September 2019. Customers in Israel had to wait another six days; and then the day after that, another 28 countries were added to the list.
And the iPhone 11 was relatively quick at launching around the world. The iPhone 6 went on sale in only 12 countries on day one, and the iPhone 5 in just 11. The original iPhone was available only in the US on launch day.
One of the countries that seems to have been bumped up the queue this time around is South Korea, although that nation still isn’t going to be part of the very first launch group, according to reports. Sales of the iPhone 12 are expected to start there in very late October or early November, reports The Korea Herald, putting it around a week later than the expected 23 October launch in the US and UK.
For comparison, the iPhone 11 went on sale in South Korea on 25 October 2019, just over a month later than in the UK and US.
One of the reasons why South Korea has been given higher priority by Apple is that the country has been early in expanding its 5G network. Support for 5G is expected to be the iPhone 12’s headline feature.
To catch up on the latest gossip, read our iPhone 12 rumours roundup. If you’d prefer to know about the phones you can actually buy right now, take a look at our guide to the best iPhone deals.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation by David Price.