Will they or won’t they? Apple’s release of an iPhone 5 this summer is being widely debated after the WWDC 2011 appears to focus strictly on the future of iOS (and Mac OS), but it appears that two Korean cell phone carriers may be getting the device in late June anyway.
MacRumors is reporting that Apple may indeed be planning to launch the iPhone 5 during the last week of June after all. According to Korean website ETNews.co.kr, mobile carriers SK Telecom and KT will be “amongst the first carriers to offer the new iPhone.”
“iPhone 5, the next model of iPhone 4, will be released on the coming 4th week of June,” the ETNews report claims. “In the midst of the iPhone 5 postponement rumors, Apple has confirmed that iPhone 5 will be released as planned and it will be released simultaneously in Korea through SK Telecom and KT.”
And what of the speculation that WWDC 2011 will be iPhone-free? Apparently, Apple will indeed skip WWDC 2011 for an iPhone 5 introduction, instead hosting a “special media event featuring Steve Jobs himself” to unveil the updated handset.
MacRumors is rightfully skeptical about this report, particularly since it was also posted on ETNews.co.uk on April 1 -- a day well-known for practical jokes and disinformation. But it wouldn’t be the first time a carrier outed a new iPhone model, either -- according to MacRumors, a Telecome Italia executive VP of technology accidentally revealed the release date for the iPhone 3G back in 2008.
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(Image courtesy of Macotakara.jp)
