Apple has opened its store doors for pre-sales of the iPhone 4S it announced this week, and confirmed pricing for the UK will reach nearly £700 for the high-end version.
The handset was met with mixed reaction from consumers who had been expecting an iPhone 5, rather than a revamped and re-specced iPhone 4, but fans will doubtless still head to the store to pre-order their phone in advance of the 14 October launch.
However, anyone buying the handsets SIM free will need deep pockets, with the 16GB version costing £499, the 32GB model weighing in at £599 and the top-of-the-range 64GB model priced at £699.
The price points might look high, but are in line with the earlier iPhone 4, which is still on sale at £429 with 8GB of storage, while the 3GS handset is still available at £319.
The iPhone 4S has a new dual-core A5 chip – the same processor that powers the iPad 2 – and features a dual-core GPU that Apple claims will offer seven-times faster graphics than the previous handset. Battery life should be similar to the iPhone 4, Apple said.
However, there are options for consumers looking for a lower initial investment, with Carphone Warehouse offering the new handset free for customers willing to sign up to a 24-month, £46/month contract with 750MB of data.
Those with longer term savings in mind might also consider that – with Three and others offering free iPhone 4 handsets with contracts at £35 a month – they could save £200 by opting for the earlier version.
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