According to the RBC Daily, Apple could start selling the iPhone 5 in Russia this November, with that date being “almost immediately” after the US release.
The Russian newspaper’s sources are unnamed smartphone retailers, and this report seems to echo another rumor that Apple won’t unveil the iPhone 5 until October of this year.
Bloomberg reports:
“Russian cellphone operators are in talks with Apple about speeding up deliveries, as previous iPhone versions were introduced in Russia much later than in the U.S., causing a large volume of unauthorized sales, the newspaper said.”
The iPhone 4 didn’t show up in Russia until 3 months after its US release. A recent claim points towards an October release of the next iPhone in the US, so November makes perfect sense for a corresponding launch in Russia. Many international channels experience delays with getting products up for sale after they are released stateside.
Does this report make the claim of an October iPhone 5 release more valid to you? We’re still skeptical.