Virgin Mobile USA to Launch iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Virgin Mobile USA to Launch iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1

Earlier this week, we noted that a number of regional carriers in the United States and Canada had begun announcing plans to begin selling the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on October 1, representing a coordinated expansion of availability for the device even as iPhone 5s supplies remain extremely tight.

One notable exception to the list of carriers launching the new iPhones on that date was Virgin Mobile, but in a pair of Tweets issued today the company has announced that it too will be part of that October 1 rollout.

virgin_mobile.iphone_5s
Virgin Mobile, a prepaid brand from Sprint, first began carrying the iPhone in June 2012 with the iPhone 4s and iPhone 4. The carrier did not begin selling the iPhone 5 until June of this year, some nine months after the handset debuted on the major U.S. carriers.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...
iOS 27 on iPhone 17 1

iOS 27 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday May 2, 2026 8:43 am PDT by
Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 during its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8, and there are already many rumored features and changes for iPhones. The first developer beta of iOS 27 will likely be available immediately following the keynote, and a public beta typically follows in July. Following beta testing, the software update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in...
Apple Announces 2026 Pride Band Watch Face and iPhone Wallpaper Article 2

iOS 26.5 Coming Soon With These New Features

Monday May 4, 2026 8:40 am PDT by
iOS 26.5 is expected to be released next week, following more than a month of beta testing. The update is relatively minor, but there are a couple of new features and changes across the operating system that we have recapped below. iOS 26.5 lays the groundwork for end-to-end encryption for RCS in the Messages app and ads in the Apple Maps app, and it will include a new Pride wallpaper and a...

Top Rated Comments

165 months ago
Their plans are amazing... $30 a month for their Beyond Talk plan (http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/beyond-talk-plans/overview/) for an iPhone user to get unlimited data, unlimited text and 300 minutes.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jschultz Avatar
164 months ago
Cannot imagine how you can possibly be so lucky. For a phone that can do nothing but only used with one specific wireless provider with a <0.1% market share, it's impossible to hit a desirable buyer with just one post.

It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. I too have sold prepaid phones (Blackberry Curve, LG Optimus V, HTC ONE V) that are tied to prepaid.

Yes, it's a small market share, but in a city of 2.7 million people and a MSA population of 9.7 million, you definitely get bites on Craigslist.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
acctman Avatar
165 months ago
Apple still has pre-order as late as November, yet they can ship stock to Virgin and other smaller carriers? I know companies like Virgin pay up front but what about the customers that already said 'hey Apple you can take my money' via a pre-order? :confused:
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iDuel Avatar
165 months ago
Virgin Mobile's only concern is that poor people keep paying their bills on time and that new poor people use their service. I don't think current poor people that are VM customers can afford new phones.

I think we've found the elitist comment of the day. #

I think Virgin Mobile has a smart business plan; you end up saving more money in the long run compared to the other post paid services.

I'll let you in on a secret, no matter rich or poor, people will always want to save money.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
165 months ago
Heres the deal and Sprint has confirmed it.

Sprint doesn't have enough spectrum for good LTE like Verizon and ATT.
Therefore, Sprint customers have crappy LTE speeds.

Think of spectrum like lanes on a tollway. You can buy an ez tag for ATT, Verizon or Sprint.

Sprint sells the cheapest ez tag but their tollway only has 2 lanes each direction and tons of poor people driving on it because they can't afford the more expensive ez tag.

Now think of Virgin Mobile and Boost mobile like an additional ez tag restriction forcing those customers to use only 1 lane of the 2 lane tollway.

In addition to being jampacked on that single lane, Sprint customers get priority for data throughput which essentially means someone throws a yield sign up on that tollway to allow Sprint customers to use both lanes while making boost mobile and virgin mobile customers wait (i.e. go slower)

Meanwhile ATT and Verizon customers are driving corvettes and ferraris down their 8 lane tollways with not a speed limit sign in site.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jschultz Avatar
165 months ago
I used Android on Virgin Mobile USA for a few years. great prices, but network speeds are dreadfully slow, unless you happen to be in one of their 4G covered areas.
We've got really good Sprint coverage in Chicago. My GSM iPhone 4 was a hand-me-down, so I migrated away from my HTC One V on Virgin Mobile to AT&T. Before my switch, I never had a single hiccup. My wife's still on it and gets 3G speeds at what is expected. I don't have any experience with 4G yet.


EDIT: If Virgin offered the 5S for as competitive of a price as they did for the 5 (as mentioned above) I would probably migrate back over from GoPhone to VM. This is relevant to my interests.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Related Apple News: Sport | World News | Motoring | Local News | Mac