Apple has confirmed that the iPhone 4S will be available unlocked and contract-free starting in November, 2011. According to the online Apple Store, 16GB models will be priced at $649, with 32GB at $749 and 64GB at $849. However, in a somewhat confusing note on the page, Apple’s text says that “the unlocked iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S will not work with CDMA-based carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint.” It’s unclear at this point whether the text was merely preserved from the iPhone 4 and carried forwards to the iPhone 4S, which operates as a dual-mode worldphone with the ability to switch between CDMA and GSM networks, or whether this is related to an actual software or hardware restriction with the new device.
Jeremy Horwitz was the Editor-in-Chief at iLounge. He has written over 5,000 articles and reviews for the website and is one of the most respected members of the Apple media. Horwitz has been following Apple since the release of the original iPod in 2001. He was one of the first reviewers to receive a pre-release unit of the device, and his review helped put iLounge on the map as a go-to source for Apple news.