Apple already selling unlocked, contract-free iPhone 4S in the United States

Although Apple says that they will begin selling unlocked, contract-free iPhone 4S units in the United States in November, we have learned otherwise. Select Apple Stores in the United States have begun selling contract-free versions of the iPhone 4S, which our friend Steven Troughton-Smith was able to both verify and purchase.

Users can activate the contract-free iPhone 4S by simply plugging the device into iTunes. Once plugged in, the above iPhone 4S unlocked popup will appear. Troughton-Smith’s unlocked iPhone 4S in the United States successfully connected to T-Mobile’s EDGE network via an O2 SIM-card on roaming. The contract-free, unlocked iPhone 4S included an AT&T SIM card, which is of course removable. Apple sells this special iPhone 4S for $649, $749, and $849 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, respectively.

Thanks to reader Andrew Ng for the lead!