warranty isn't an issue - it's world wide for iPhones. 3rd party unlocking it could void the warranty, though. The problem with importing iPhones from the US is that they don't support the same 4G and 3G frequencies as the European and Asian models. In other words: they don't work on all networks here. They only partially work on Swisscom, for example, as only a part of their frequency spectrum is supported. If you need more details, head over to digitec and read their disclaimer they put on the import iPhone listings.
As for available supply: I went to the Apple Stores in Bristol several times because I wanted to import a phone and sell it here at a premium. It's not that they were selling out too fast - it's that the Stores didn't receive a single shipment during the entire week. At the same time, all network providers had a ton of them sitting on their shelves. Demand was overall pretty low I think. I'd say it was mainly tourists from countries such as Switzerland who were interested in making a quick buck by importing phones that asked for the iPhone 5S at the Apple Store, plus some enthusiasts who want an unlocked phone. The general population who wants to buy on-contract didn't seem to be very interested.
I'm not surprised the 5S is doing well in the US - that's a traditional iPhone country, while apple is in danger if being overtaken by WP8 in many European countries.
I have checked the warranty issue myself...Iphones never had international waranty...call Apple here and they will tell you the exact thing. Here is just one example:
So far, at least, volume of sales doesn't appear to be a concern for Apple. If it does come to pass that Swisscom sells fewer units, perhaps they'll just keep some extras in the US?
Realistically, though, Switzerland has got to be one of the places where an increase in price is least likely to hurt Apple's sales.
Depends on where you bought it - all European countries are covered. Digitec routinely sells phones imported from EU countries and all of them are covered by Apple in Switzerland. I personally had phones exchanged that I bought from Digitec - one of them came with an English plug, the other one was imported from Italy.
I don't know about the US - I could see them not covering those because they don't have the same frequency set (so they actually don't share the same hardware - and Apple Stores here likely don't have the parts to fix them). This isn't purely a GSM vs. CDMA issue - even the GSM phones don't support the same 3G and 4G frequencies.
Here's what Digitec has to say about that:
"Das iPhone 5S kann nur mit einer Nano-SIM Karte betrieben werden! Keine USA Importe somit ist das LTE Band 7 vorhanden!"
the US phones don't support LTE band 7, which is one of two bands Swisscom uses in Switzerland.
Sales in the US are great, as was to be expected. As for Swiss pricing: I work as a teacher. I know for a fact that pricing is a major issue for Swiss teenagers. There's no way in heck the average Swiss student or apprentice can afford a 500-800 Fr. phone (on contract). That's definitely going to hurt Apple.
But then, there are some signs currently that Apple has realized they can't win against Google (or even WP8 in the long run) in terms of market share. Apple has been raising prices for almost all of their products - the iMac, for example, just got roughly 100 Fr. more expensive in all countries. They seem to be planning a return to their former market segment: luxury and creative pro.
That is exactly why there is no international warranty for US iphones...network issues and differences.
The european model has coverage in every country from Europe.
My problem is not LTE...the network is not so huge (even though I was surprised to see that Sunrise has a good coverage in Zurcher Oberland). If you have a problem with the Iphone you cannot swap it you need to send it to US.
Where would you send it to? Unless you have relatives in the US, there's no way to get anyone to repair the thing for you and send it back to Europe.
LTE is probably the most important aspect of the phone for many buyers. All major providers are pushing their LTE networks - I have coverage almost everywhere here (except for at home - I live in a town that only gets GSM, that goes for all providers, unfortunately).
Thanks everyone for the info on LTE in Switzerland. I was on the verge of ordering a 5S from a friend in the US.
So to be absolutely certain,
LTE from a US phone will only *kinda* work in Switzerland (I use Swisscom), right? And is there any chance that Swiss providers will be adding the US bandwidth to their spectrum or that's never going to happen?
That's correct - the US iPhone only comes with one of the bands necessary here. It'll work in some areas but not all. Also, you probably won't be getting much if you ever think about reselling and (apparently) there's no warranty here if you buy a US phone.
And no - the US frequencies won't be deployed here because they aren't part of the frequency spectrum assigned / auctioned to the providers. Some of the US frequencies are reserved for military purposes here.
I bought mine on the UK store and had it sent to Borderlinx - that seems to have worked (still waiting the DHL truck to arrive - the package is out for delivery now). However, the iPhone 5S is now available from Digitec - so there's no point in importing it anymore.
@adrianlondon: sorry, but's not true. Apple sells them unlocked only if you buy them without a contract. If you choose a Sunrise contract to get it cheaper, for instance, the phone will be locked to Sunrise. Not sure about Swisscom and Orange contracts, as those providers are now selling all phones unlocked themselves.
Ok, then I don't get your post :-) Nobody said Apple sold them locked in the US. The problem with buying US phones has also been talked about at length further up
I didn't. Someone else did, and opened up a question. I quoted THAT. But you deleted that post too. It's complex
Anyway, I'm waiting for Apple to release the 5C here in Switzerland (not via Digitec) as the 4S is noticably cheaper here than the UK so I'm hoping the 5C will be too.
Well, the UK has much higher tax - that would explain the price difference. However, Digitec's pricing corresponds with that in all other European countries, so I somewhat doubt it'll be that much cheaper here.
Yeah, there is that - and it is kind of cool - but I'll wait until I can see both the 5c and 5s in the stores, as most people say the 5c feels better in the hand. The 5s is more advanced (the 5c is just last year's phone in a new case) though, so I've not fully decided yet.