Apple iPhone 4S to be offered by major UK networks

All the major UK mobile networks have confirmed plans to offer Apple's new iPhone 4S, although exact pricing and availability are yet to be announced.

The latest version of the iPhone was officially unveiled yesterday evening by Apple chief executive Tim Cook, boasting an eight megapixel camera, full HD video and new voice control system Siri.

Pre-orders will begin on Friday and the handset will be shipped on October 14. In the US, the iPhone 4S will cost $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB, and $399 for the 64GB.

Long queues are expected at Apple stores on the launch day as fans eagerly wait to snap up the iPhone 4S, but many people will also be keen to get the handset on a mobile contract.

TechRadar reports that Orange and its Everything Everywhere partner T-Mobile have confirmed plans to offer the handset, with registration already open on their websites.

Vodafone and Three have also said that they will be offering the iPhone 4S, while O2 issued the following statement: "The iPhone 4S will be available on O2 from October 14."



There has been no confirmation of UK pricing from the carriers, while Virgin Mobile has not yet indicated whether it will offer the handset.

Apple's share price slipped by around 3% in US stock market trading yesterday morning after the company did not reveal the full iPhone 5 handset as widely expected.

Some consumers have been left underwhelmed by what is essentially just an improved version of last year's iPhone 4, but analysts believe that the 4S will deliver a significant improvement.

Carolina Milanesi, of the analyst house Gartner, told the Financial Times: "There will be some people disappointed by the lack of a new design. But from a feature perspective Apple delivered on all the points that users were waiting for.

"They have improved the antenna design, there is a faster A5 chip and a better camera. Siri is pretty amazing if it works well with accents and different languages."

Apple iPhone 4S press conference round-up:
> Apple iPhone press conference - live blog
> New Apple iPhone 4S - in pictures
> New iPhone 4S: Was it worth the wait? - poll
> iOS 5 to launch on October 12, says Apple
> Apple product launches down the years - Pictures