iPhone 5 UK Release Date and All You Need To Know About Pricing, Carriers & Plans

Apple fans in the UK can now begin the pre-order process for the iPhone 5 through the Apple Store Web site and can expect their smartphones to be shipped by September 21. UK network prices have also been announced for nearly all carriers.

Apple is offering its new iPhone, SIM-free & unlocked in black or white for UK customers. The 16GB version will retail for £529, the 32GB version is going for £599 and the 64GB version is priced at £699.

Five UK carriers have unveiled their contract pricing for Brutish customers wanting to upgrade to the iPhone 5. These networks include Vodafone, Orange, Three, T-Mobile and O2.

Vodafone

Vodafone is offering four different 2-year plans: the premium Red Data plan, the Vodafone Red contract, a slightly cheaper Vodafone Red contract and the Vodafone budget 100 plan.

Consumers opting for the premium Red data play will pay £47 per month and receive unlimited minutes and unlimited texts, 2GB of mobile data and 4GB of Wi-Fi. For phone costs, the 16GB model is free of charge, the 32GB model is £89 and the 64GB model is £169.

The Vodafone Red contract costs £42 per month for unlimited minutes, texts, 1GB of mobile data and 3GB of Wi-Fi Internet. Phone costs are as follows: the 16GB model goes for £49, the 32 GB model is £149 and the 64GB model will cost £229.

The cheaper Vodafone Red contract costs £37 per month for unlimited minutes and texts, 1GB mobile data and 2GB Wi-Fi Internet. Upfront iPhone 5 costs will run £99 for the 16GB version, £209 for the 32GB version and £289 for the 64GB version.

Lastly is the Vodafone budget 100 plan. For £25 per month, customers get 100 minutes, unlimited texts, 100MB mobile data and 2 GB Wi-Fi Internet. The iPhone 5 will cost £249 for the 16GB version, £349 for the 32GB version and £409 for the 64GB version.

Orange

For Orange customers, included in every 2-year plan are unlimited minutes and texting. Depending on the desired amount of mobile data, monthly payments the the upfront iPhone 5 costs vary. There is an unlimited data option, though, and for £51 per month customers can get the 16GB iPhone 5 for free, the 32GB iPhone 5 costs £39.99 and the 64GB iPhone 5 goes for £129.99.

Now for Orange pricing with different data amounts: for 1GB mobile data the plan costs £36 per month and the upfront iPhone 5 costs are £109.99 for the 16GB version, £219.99 for the 32GB version and £296.99 for the 64GB version. For 2GB mobile data, the plan costs £41 per month and the 16GB iPhone 5 will cost £29.99, the 32GB iPhone 5 is £139.99 and the 64GB iPhone 5 is £209.99. Lastly, for 3GB mobile data, the plan costs £46 per month. The 16GB iPhone 5 comes at no charge, the 32GB version is £89.99 and the 64GB version is £179.99.

Three

In contrast to Orange, Three offers all of its 2-year contract customers unlimited mobile data and the cost of each plan varies depending on the number of monthly minutes and texts desired. Orange offers two different plan options.

The One plan offers 2,000 any network minutes, 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes and 5,000 texts. The 16GB iPhone 5 will cost £79 and comes with a £36 monthly fee. The 32GB iPhone 5 costs £89 with a £39 monthly fee and the 64GB iPhone 5 costs £109 with a £42 monthly fee.

Orange's cheaper plan is called the Ultimate Internet 500. It comes with 500 any network minutes and 5,000 texts. The 16GB iPhone 5 will cost £79 upfront with a £34 monthly fee. The 32GB iPhone 5 has a price of £89 with a £37 monthly fee and the 64GB iPhone 5 costs £109 with a £40 monthly fee.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile offers 2-year contracts to its customers but the plan and phone prices differ in different ways. All T-Mobile customers get unlimited mobile Internet access and texts. The cheapest plan has a restricted number of minutes/calls, but the other three options are unlimited all the way.

For £36 per month, customers receive 2,000 any-network minutes and unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile minutes. The iPhone 5 costs are as follows: £109 for the 16GB version, £219 for the 32GB version and £269 for the 64GB version.

Now on to all-unlimited options: For £41 per month, the 16GB iPhone 5 costs £49, the 32GB iPhone 5 costs £149 and the 64GB iPhone 5 costs £219. For £46 per month, the 16GB iPhone 5 costs £29, the 32 GB iPhone 5 costs £99 and the 64GB iPhone 5 costs £189. Lastly, for £61 per month, the 16GB iPhone 5 costs £19, the 32GB iPhone 5 costs £29 and the 64GB iPhone 5 costs £139.

O2

Finally, here is the pricing information for O2 customers. Although O2 has not yet announced pricing for the actual handsets, they have unveiled monthly plan rates for their 2-year contract customers.

O2 is offering plans at the following costs per month for unlimited minutes and texts and 1GB Internet data: £26, £31, £36, £41, £46 and £63. The upfront cost for the iPhone 5 is expected to be priciest for the customers with the cheapest per-month plan rate and will decrease exponentially as plan prices increase.