Will I be able to buy an unlocked iPhone 5 in the US, when I visit in October?

[icebergx]

Hi all,
I'm planning to visit NYC at the end of October (I live in the UK) and I wanted to buy an unlocked phone that I could happily use back home, and with a local SIM when I'm travelling for work. Will I be able to purchase one from Apple, or any other retailer? How has it worked in the past?

Will this be possible? I might be able to buy an unlocked iPhone 5 back home but, us usual, I expect it to be a bit cheaper in the US

Thanks.

 

[charlieegan3]

see here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/323127/

 

[icebergx]

Thanks for that but it's still not clear to me if it's possible to buy unlocked iPhones from either Apple or another retailer.

Thanks.

 

[thewitt]

Yes, depending on availability.

You will want to order online with an in-store pickup I would guess - and then contact the store directly and let them know when you are arriving.

 

[madsci954]

You may be hard pressed to find one, but you may get lucky. If it's the same as last year with the 4S, it will be a month before the factory unlocked iPhones hit the shelves. So, the end of October, which is when you'll be here. That is if the locked iPhones launch when I think they will, which is Sept 21 (no proof, just guessing off history)

And even then, they may sell like hot cakes so it may be hard to find them in stores.

 

[Azzin]

Yes, depending on availability.

You will want to order online with an in-store pickup I would guess - and then contact the store directly and let them know when you are arriving.

I don't think you can do that with a UK address/credit card billing address.

 

[mattopotamus]

You may be hard pressed to find one, but you may get lucky. If it's the same as last year with the 4S, it will be a month before the factory unlocked iPhones hit the shelves. So, the end of October, which is when you'll be here. That is if the locked iPhones launch when I think they will, which is Sept 21 (no proof, just guessing off history)

And even then, they may sell like hot cakes so it may be hard to find them in stores.

This. It will be really hard to get and right at the 1 month mark.

 

[hamlin]

If you buy an unlocked one then it will work yea. The question is if it will be available or not. Depending on how far south you are, you can take a little road trip up to Canada and try to get one here as well.