Apple and Virgin Mobile USA Planning to Launch iPhone 5, But Timeframe Unknown
While the three major U.S iPhone carriers launched the iPhone 5 on September 21 and prepaid carrier Cricket and a number of regional carriers followed suit on September 28, one U.S. brand has been curiously silent about its plans for the iPhone 5: Sprint's prepaid Virgin Mobile unit. Virgin launched the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 in late June, offering prepaid plans for as low as $30 per month to customers willing to pay full retail price for their iPhones.
But while no official iPhone 5 announcement has been made, MacRumors has confirmed that Apple does indeed have Virgin-specific CDMA iPhone 5 units lined up and ready to go. The full suite of Virgin Mobile USA iPhone 5 model numbers includes:
Black
- MD250LL/A: 16 GB
- MD489LL/A: 32 GB
- MD574LL/A: 64 GB
White
- MD355LL/A: 16 GB
- MD566LL/A: 32 GB
- MD591LL/A: 64 GB
A timeframe for an iPhone 5 launch on Virgin Mobile USA is currently unknown, and it is unclear why the carrier did not introduce the iPhone 5 last week alongside competitor Cricket. Among the sixteen official iPhone carriers in the United States, only Virgin Mobile and regional carrier Alaska Communications have yet to introduce the iPhone 5. When asked about Virgin Mobile's iPhone 5 plans last week, a representative simply told MacRumors that the carrier has "made no announcements about this".
Popular Stories
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode.
Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer."
The full description of...
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26.
The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now.
It...
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve).
The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers.
Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update.
When the...
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier.
Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player.
With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
Apple is running a new promotion that offers free AirPods to qualifying customers.
Now through September 30, college and university students in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Singapore can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount.
If you do not want AirPods, the promotion also offers various other...
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...
