Rumour: Unlocked iPhone 5 Sales to Hit Apple Stores in Late November

The launch of the iPhone 5 this year brought changes as factory unlocked units were only available for order online and not in-store. This change was unannounced by Apple but we exclusively told you about it prior to the launch, which Apple later confirmed with us.

Now, our source that initially told us about the retail change has once again notified us the policy is changing. An internal memo specifically states the decision to not sell unlocked units in stores was to derail iPhone resellers, which previously had put huge constraints on inventory. As to when factory unlocked units are set to hit Apple Stores in Canada again, our source noted “mid to late November”.

Last year, the iPhone 4S launched on October 14th, with a reserve and pick up option that followed three days later. The latter was also introduced as an option back in 2009 during the holidays, and this upcoming change for the iPhone 5 could once again be happening in similar fashion.

Although Canada has finally reached pricing parity with the U.S. on its Macs, iPads and iPods, the factory unlocked iPhone 5 increased in price by $50 this year. Do you have your iPhone 5 yet?

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