New iPhone models begin arriving in the US ahead of September 10 media event

iphone5c1

Apple made its long-rumored September 10 media event official this morning, as it sent out a number of invites to the presser. It’s widely believed that the company will use the event to unveil not one, but two new smartphones.

And according to a new report, those smartphones have already begun shipping to the US. Citing a reliable source, MacRumors claims that Apple has begun stockpiling both the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C in various channels…

MacRumors’ Eric Slivka reports:

“…MacRumors has learned from a reliable source that the company has already begun shipments of at least some of the new hardware into the United States.

As is not unheard of for the company, Apple is already beginning to stockpile units in the United States for quick distribution to carrier partners, other third-party retail partners, and its own channels.”

Slivka goes on to note that there’s been little to no specific evidence of iPhone 5S handset models being ready for shipment, but we have seen a number of photos allegedly showing the lower-cost iPhone 5C in its final retail packaging.

Blue iPhone 5C packaging closeup

Over the weekend, several images surfaced claiming to show Apple’s rumored budget smartphone in an iPod touch-like transparent box, ready to be shipped to customers. There was even a purported video of the device running iOS 7.

Combine all of this with the fact that both the 5S and 5C are expected to launch Friday, September 20, in many countries, and it’s no surprise that Apple is already stockpiling units in the US. The question is, how many will they have at launch?

The last we heard, supply for 5S was going to be short initially due to production issues with its built-in fingerprint sensor.