South Korea and China getting the phone this Friday, December 7

Dec 3, 2012 13:51 GMT  ·  By

A press release from Cupertino just hit the wires confirming that South Korea and 50 other countries across the globe are set to receive shipments of the latest iPhone model. The rollout is scheduled for the entire month of December, Apple says.

Apple confirms today that its iPhone 5 will be available in South Korea on Friday, December 7, with 50 additional countries following suit throughout December. Key countries set to receive the elusive handset include Brazil, Russia and Taiwan, Apple says.

The phone is currently available in 47 countries around the world including the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the UK, according to the Cupertino giant.

The announcement includes a complete list of the countries in line to get the smartphone (reproduced below) on three consecutive Fridays.

Friday, December 7: iPhone 5 will be available in South Korea

Friday, December 14: iPhone 5 will be released officially in Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, Grenada, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Friday, December 21: iPhone 5 will launch in two more dozen countries, including Barbados, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Egypt, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St.Vincent & the Grenadines, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam.

Last week, the Cupertino company issued a similar announcement confirming plans to have the latest iPad models deployed in China on Friday, December 7. The tablets include the all-new iPad mini and the 4th-generation iPad with Retina display.

The country is on track to get the iPhone 5 on Friday, December 14, after Chinese regulators will have approved its wireless specifications.