History

Speculation about the iPhone 5 and its specifications arose shortly after the announcement of the iPhone 4S. However, detailed rumours and leaks did not emerge until June 2012. As early as July 30, 2012, reports pinpointed the exact date of unveiling and release of the phone along with some accurate predictions of features.

On September 4, 2012, Apple invited the media to an event scheduled for September 12, 2012, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Many sources speculated that this would be related to the next iPhone due to a shadow of the number 5 that featured in the design of the invitations. Apple subsequently announced a number of new products including the iPhone 5, iPod Nano (7th generation), and iPod Touch (5th generation) at the event. The phone was available for pre-order on September 14, 2012.

A few days after the iPhone 5 was announced over two million orders had been taken just on September 14 and five million in the first three days of its release, beating the iPhone 4S record of four million in first three days.