Consumers who ordered the phone between 7 a.m. and noon can expect to receive the phone Friday, Sept. 21. Customers who were unable to order during those hours have been placed on back-order status and won’t receive their iPhone until about Oct. 5.

Based on the popularity of past iPhones, Apple was anticipating the phone to sell quickly — but the 2 million pre-orders that flooded Apple’s system sold out of every phone.

An employee at the Verizon Wireless store, 209 E. Grand River Ave., who wished not to be named, said as higher education integrates more web-based classes, investing in the iPhone 5 will help students organize their schoolwork.

“You can buy books on iPhones, keep in contact with professors and work groups, group messaging, video conferencing — there’s a million features you can use to study,” he said.

The newest iPhone is 18 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than its predecessor.

Preveterinary sophomore Tanner Erndt said the risk of damage to the new iPhone screen can easily be avoided with care.

“They are great products if you aren’t stupid with them,” he said. “If you drop any modern-day smartphone, the screen will crack.”

The iPhone 4s was a 3G-carrier, but Apple has since upgraded the iPhone technology to include LTE-powered 4G connectivity and a new A6 processing chip, which will result in faster phone speed on the Internet and apps.

Advertising senior Lukas Miller said Apple products are inferior to Android, which has made similar updates in 2010.

“It’s a total fad,” he said. “A lot of people buy into Apple, but Android technology is a lot better.”

The iPhone 5 has a redesigned battery that will support the new components.

The new phone has a lighter, larger screen than all previous iPhones.