An iPhone 5S pre-order is not happening at all, but the iPhone 5C pre-orders have begun today with iPhone trade-ins and Walmart deals softening the blow.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , iPhone 5S reviews from critics have been not so kind to Apple so far.
Apple fans are unlikely to be very kind either once they wake up this morning and discover there is not an iPhone 5S pre-order date at all. When the iPhone 5S was announced at the Apple Launch Event 2013 , the presentation seemed to imply the iPhone 5S pre-order date would fall on the same date as the iPhone 5C pre-order date, which happens to be today.
Considering this is Friday the 13th, I’m sure Jason is not amused he stayed up late for the supposed iPhone 5S pre-order date when he could have been chasing down more teenagers. Apple fans will be less amused when they discover the only way to snag on the September 20 iPhone 5S release date is to wait in long lines. Or you can wait until midnight and order via the Apple website. In any case, the irony of the iPhone 5S marketing campaign featured in the above photo cannot be escaped.
Looking mighty scary out there… God must be mad there’s no iPhone 5s preorder, even HE can’t get it early! #retaliation
— DJ RI5E (@DJRI5E) September 12, 2013
Despite a lack of any official announcement from Apple, both Best Buy and Walmart have confirmed they are not taking iPhone 5S pre-orders. An iPhone 5S Walmart deal is being offered for the 16GB iPhone 5S, lowering the price from $199 down to $189 with a two year contract. The iPhone 5C pre-order deal at Walmart will net you the 16GB iPhone 5C for $99, although you can also snag an original iPhone 5 for $79, which is quite a good deal since the iPhone 5C and 5 are mostly the same phone (the iPhone 5C supports extra LTE networks globally and Bluetooth 4.0).
In the meantime, an iPhone trade-in program will ready you for the eventual iPhone 5S release date. Since there’s no iPhone 5S pre-order, Apple stores are instead offering store credit. You can also your older iPhone to Walmart, Best Buy, USell, Amazon, and Gazelle.
Unfortunately, since you happened to wait until today the value of your older iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S has dropped significantly since the iPhone trade-in programs have been announced. And selling your older iPhone now would leave you without a phone at all for a week. But the iPhone 4 is still going for $200 on some sites so it’s possible you could upgrade to the original iPhone 5.
What do you plan now that you know an iPhone 5S pre-order date is not happening?