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iPhone Release Schedule (ATT/Verizon)

B

Branden Dae

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 25, 2010
24
5
This is just my prediction but I think it's logical enough. With all the "4G" talk from the carriers at CES, Apple couldn't possibly pass it up this cycle. We'll get an AT&T iPhone 4G (HSPA+) in June/July 2011. Then, release a Verizon iPhone 4G (LTE) in Jan/Feb 2012. iPhone releases will take on six month alternating refreshes between the two carriers.
No one on Verizon will feel "ripped off" for buying an iPhone now, then having a 4G come out six months later. Plus, this'll give Verizon time to build out LTE to a maturity level "Apple would approve of." Plus, all of this would fit into the naming scheme of introducing a “new” wireless technology to the iPhone (i.e. iPhone 3G).
They could possibly unify the two models/carriers come June/July 2012 as one iPhone 5/6 model as both carriers should have LTE up and running great by then and wireless chip technology may allow it.
 
You have it backwards. If any carrier is to get LTE first it would be Verizon. Their LTE is over a year ahead of AT&T's, it wouldn't make sense to release the phone first on a crippled LTE when a full blown ready to go LTE is sitting there.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn't care about people buying iPhone 4 and then having a new one come out 6 months later. Either way, they are making more money. And, they know people (like me) would buy both.

Like I've said before, I wouldn't be surprised to see an LTE model for both carriers in January of 2012 and have no release this summer. There isn't much more than can be improved of iPhone 4 that requires a full new release this summer (besides LTE). And since it's not full adapted, you could expect to see iPhone 5 with LTE in January 2012 (or if we're lucky, iPhone 5 with LTE for both this summer). Then both carriers would be on the same release page. I don't see them separating releases and having people pissed for switching carriers and bouncing between carriers to get the latest phone. Verizon is going to make them more money, they won't give AT&T the better phone first (also, can you see Steve at a keynote giving a presentation about iPhone 5 and saying it's only available on AT&T -- do you know the boos that would get? Investors would scream and shout like no other). It's just business.
 
I think I have it right in the sense that AT&T is using HSPA+ as part of their "4G" plans, so release an iPhone that would access HSPA+ would be an "iPhone 4G."
 
Whatever they're going to name it, both carriers (if the rumors are true about tomorrow) will definitely get a '4G' iPhone within a year, IMO.
 
And I do agree that Verizon would be the first to have an LTE iPhone before AT&T (if not at the same time).

stewart715 said:
Whatever they're going to name it, both carriers (if the rumors are true about tomorrow) will definitely get a '4G' iPhone within a year, IMO.
Click to expand...

Exciting times none the less...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
But just as something simple as the screen size made the iPad that much different than the iPhone/iPod touch, perhaps Apple has some ideas about how faster speeds are going to change the iPhone drastically (i.e. cloud based iTunes). Maybe that's what they are waiting for.
 
* iPhone4 on Verizon Feb 2011 - 16gb $199 and 32gb $299

* iPhone5 on ATT and Verizon June 2011 - possibly 32gb $199 and 64gb $299.
* iPhone 4 16gb - June 2011 lowered to $49 or $99 on both ATT and Verzion.

Verizon is NOT going to go a whole year without a $49 or $99 iPhone option to match ATT.

This is why it would be foolish for people to not wait 5 months to see what happens. Especially if you are already on contract with ATT.

4g /LTE/HSPA+ whatever is still a 2012 thing. not happening in 2011 for Apple
 
Branden Dae said:
This is just my prediction but I think it's logical enough. With all the "4G" talk from the carriers at CES, Apple couldn't possibly pass it up this cycle. We'll get an AT&T iPhone 4G (HSPA+) in June/July 2011. Then, release a Verizon iPhone 4G (LTE) in Jan/Feb 2012. iPhone releases will take on six month alternating refreshes between the two carriers.
No one on Verizon will feel "ripped off" for buying an iPhone now, then having a 4G come out six months later. Plus, this'll give Verizon time to build out LTE to a maturity level "Apple would approve of." Plus, all of this would fit into the naming scheme of introducing a “new” wireless technology to the iPhone (i.e. iPhone 3G).
They could possibly unify the two models/carriers come June/July 2012 as one iPhone 5/6 model as both carriers should have LTE up and running great by then and wireless chip technology may allow it.
Click to expand...


I agree with this.

edk99 said:
* iPhone4 on Verizon Feb 2011 - 16gb $199 and 32gb $299

* iPhone5 on ATT and Verizon June 2011 - possibly 32gb $199 and 64gb $299.
* iPhone 4 16gb - June 2011 lowered to $49 or $99 on both ATT and Verzion.

Verizon is NOT going to go a whole year without a $49 or $99 iPhone option to match ATT.

This is why it would be foolish for people to not wait 5 months to see what happens. Especially if you are already on contract with ATT.

4g /LTE/HSPA+ whatever is still a 2012 thing. not happening in 2011 for Apple
Click to expand...

This makes no sense for Apple in my opinion.
 
Geckotek said:
This makes no sense for Apple in my opinion.
Click to expand...

why so? they are already doing the whole previous year's iphone as the current entry level phone and the current year as the main one, so the precedent is there. if you look at how they've acted already in regards to breaking carrier exclusivity, the evidence is right there, this is NO different. it's still an iPhone 4, just with a CDMA radio, no other differences. are you really in that much denial?
 
I think Apple bought an extra year of shelf life for the iPhone 4 platform with this Verizon deal.

In June, we'll see the white 64gb iphone 4 on both carriers.


2012 will bring the new iphone 5 with LTE/4G.
 
andythursby said:
why so? they are already doing the whole previous year's iphone as the current entry level phone and the current year as the main one, so the precedent is there. if you look at how they've acted already in regards to breaking carrier exclusivity, the evidence is right there, this is NO different. it's still an iPhone 4, just with a CDMA radio, no other differences. are you really in that much denial?
Click to expand...

There's NO precedent of a model being replaced/upgraded after 5 months.
 
Geckotek said:
There's NO precedent of a model being replaced/upgraded after 5 months.
Click to expand...

this is not an upgrade or a replacement, this is simply just exisiting phone coming out on a new carrier, like in the UK when O2 lost exclusivity and orange and vodafone released the 3GS on their network then had the iPhone 4 in June that same year. they still sold the 3GS at the same time as the iPhone 4, but sell it as the cheapest, entry level phone. this is just the same situation. Precedent set. the only difference is the iPhone on verizon will have a CDMA radio. thats all. there won't be any other improvements made. otherwise it woulda been an apple event, not a carrier event.
 
Geckotek said:
There's NO precedent of a model being replaced/upgraded after 5 months.
Click to expand...
Your are right but at the same time I cannot see Apple going 18+ months before releasing an iPhone 5 on all carriers. That is WAY harder to believe then a new iPhone 5 coming out for Verizon in June along with everyone else. I certainly also wouldn't want to be Verizon and have all other carriers (well just ATT in the US) get an iPhone 5 in June and they don't get it till 2012.

The iPhone 4 will be the $99 option in June for Verizon and ATT with the release of an iPhone 5.
 
andythursby said:
this is not an upgrade or a replacement, this is simply just exisiting phone coming out on a new carrier, like in the UK when O2 lost exclusivity and orange and vodafone released the 3GS on their network then had the iPhone 4 in June that same year. they still sold the 3GS at the same time as the iPhone 4, but sell it as the cheapest, entry level phone. this is just the same situation. Precedent set. the only difference is the iPhone on verizon will have a CDMA radio. thats all. there won't be any other improvements made. otherwise it woulda been an apple event, not a carrier event.
Click to expand...

Not the same situation. You're talking about a GSM phone that already existing followed by a GSM phone that would have been rolled out anyway.

This would be a brand new model followed up with another brand new model 5 months later. There is no precedent to anything like this. Closest is the capacity bump.

edk99 said:
Your are right but at the same time I cannot see Apple going 18+ months before releasing an iPhone 5 on all carriers. That is WAY harder to believe then a new iPhone 5 coming out for Verizon in June along with everyone else. I certainly also wouldn't want to be Verizon and have all other carriers (well just ATT in the US) get an iPhone 5 in June and they don't get it till 2012.

The iPhone 4 will be the $99 option in June for Verizon and ATT with the release of an iPhone 5.
Click to expand...

I'm not predicting an 18 month wait. I think we see a GSM iPhone in June and another CDMA model around a year after this one. Even when LTE is initially launched, we will have to have a CDMA model and a GSM model. Everyone has forgotten that we need something to fall back to on legacy networks. Eventually there may be an LTE/CDMA/WCDMA chip...but not very soon.
 
andythursby said:
this is not an upgrade or a replacement, this is simply just exisiting phone coming out on a new carrier, like in the UK when O2 lost exclusivity and orange and vodafone released the 3GS on their network then had the iPhone 4 in June that same year. they still sold the 3GS at the same time as the iPhone 4, but sell it as the cheapest, entry level phone. this is just the same situation. Precedent set. the only difference is the iPhone on verizon will have a CDMA radio. thats all. there won't be any other improvements made. otherwise it woulda been an apple event, not a carrier event.
Click to expand...
Exactly!! This is a carrier event not an Apple event so no new hardware except CDMA radio.
 
Geckotek said:
This would be a brand new model followed up with another brand new model 5 months later. There is no precedent to anything like this. Closest is the capacity bump.
Click to expand...

it's not a brand new model! it's one little change! it has all the existing bits of the iPhone 4 apart from the CDMA radio. now if it had a capacity bump or speed increase, you may actually have a point. but it doesn't, so it's just the same as the international situations where its on a new carrier.
 
andythursby said:
it's not a brand new model! it's one little change! it has all the existing bits of the iPhone 4 apart from the CDMA radio. now if it had a capacity bump or speed increase, you may actually have a point. but it doesn't, so it's just the same as the international situations where its on a new carrier.
Click to expand...

A new radio is NOT a little change. A MUCH bigger change than a capacity bump or speed increase. And if rumor stands correct, it will be coming off a completely different manufacturing line.

No matter what you say, it's a separate model. It is not JUST another iPhone 4. It WILL be a VERIZON iPhone 4. Different enough to be...differentiated.

dukebound85 said:
What makes you think Apple wont simply release a vz version tomorrow of the iphone 4 and in june, the iphone 5 will be compatible with both networks?
Click to expand...

That's a possiblity. However, I'm betting both carriers will fight a phone that can move back and forth feely. AT&T locking the exiting iPhone is proof of this.
 
Geckotek said:
A new radio is NOT a little change. A MUCH bigger change than a capacity bump or speed increase. And if rumor stands correct, it will be coming off a completely different manufacturing line.

No matter what you say, it's a separate model. It is not JUST another iPhone 4.



That's a possiblity. However, I'm betting both carriers will fight a phone that can move back and forth feely. AT&T locking the exiting iPhone is proof of this.
Click to expand...

lol it's just the same, just a different radio, that has no affect on anything that joe public will see, know or even care about and it will be sold as the iPhone 4, therefore to anyone that's not someone on this forum, a tech nerd or whatnot, it coming off a different manufacturing line doesn't mean squat, it's gonna be seen as the same as any other iPhone 4. in consumers eyes, this is not a bigger change than capacity bump or speed increase. you really don't like anyone elses logic but your own, but we'll see soon enough....
 
andythursby said:
lol it's just the same, just a different radio, that has no affect on anything that joe public will see, know or even care about and it will be sold as the iPhone 4, therefore to anyone that's not someone on this forum, a tech nerd or whatnot, it coming off a different manufacturing line doesn't mean squat, it's gonna be seen as the same as any other iPhone 4. in consumers eyes, this is not a bigger change than capacity bump or speed increase. you really don't like anyone elses logic but your own, but we'll see soon enough....
Click to expand...

I'll say this one last time, what Joe Public sees or doesn't see has nothing to do with the business decision Apple will be making around manufacturing.

The fact is this, it will be a different SKU anywhere you go. Verizon and AT&T stock will not just be thrown together with no diferentiation. It will be a different model. Not significantly different, but enough.

I'm ducking out of this before I get in trouble for "bickering".
 
Geckotek said:
I'll say this one last time, what Joe Public sees or doesn't see has nothing to do with the business decision Apple will be making around manufacturing.

The fact is this, it will be a different SKU anywhere you go. Verizon and AT&T stock will not just be thrown together with no diferentiation. It will be a different model. Not significantly different, but enough.

I'm ducking out of this before I get in trouble for "bickering".
Click to expand...

lol you miss the point, it will be sold as the iPhone 4 on verizon, the same phone as on at&t. the only way it's gonna be distinguished as a seperate device is internally at apple, verizon, at&t and geeks around the world. therefore it will be treated as a same situation as with other carriers gaining the iphone after exclusivity is broken. iPhone 4 will come out, new model in June, the exisiting iPhone 4 will be the entry level model. so it will still get 18 months life out of it and get a good amount of money for it and then get money from a new one 5 months later and even more for those that bought the existing iPhone 4 and want the newer one, just like what happened in the UK on Orange & Vodafone. it won't be stopped in june due to a new model. you're ducking out cos you just can't admit you might be wrong due to the extreme amount of evidence of precedent. If i'm wrong, call me out on it and i'll admit it, but until then laters.
 
Last post on the subject, I promise. :D

Why can't you understand that the public may see it one way, but the bean counters will see it another??? Is the concept that difficult?
 
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