More likely to see Sprint getting an iPhone 4S then getting an exclusive iPhone 5. The S in the 4S can stands for Sprint.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Sprint Commits to Buying $20 Billion Worth of iPhones, To Get Redesigned iPhone 5 Exclusively?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not saying you are wrong (I want to believe the same thing), but why would Sprint pay 20 billion if they weren't going to be exclusive? Don't they run on the same technology verizon does?
Seems highly unlikely Sprint would pay $20 billion for a model that will be outdated when it hits the shelves. If the WIMAX chip met the specs Apple has already designed for the LTE models and those WIMAX chips are already availbe for mass production where the LTE chips are not, then it would make sense that the $20 billion pays for an early release date. Paying $20 billion for the rights to the same phone Verison and AT&T will be releasing puts Sprint out of business because they don't gain any market share.
Short term memory is better than bad memory
Verizon never directly dissed the iPhone, and AT&T had to drop its lawsuit over the Maps because they came from their own website... and Verizon was right about the coverage.
The VZW "There's a map for that" ad made fun of AT&T, not Apple.
Even the VZW "Island of Misfit Toys" ad asked the iPhone what it was doing there, meaning it shouldn't be. Then said "Ohhh" when the iPhone answered "AT&T".
The only ad that came close to making fun of the iPhone was the NON-Verizon Motorola funded Droid ad "Should your phone be a Princess?" with its white blob phone:
Last edited:
And I'm one of them...just waiting. But for an "upgraded" iPhone without a larger screen or new design, it will be like getting a 3GS all over again.
Heck I might wait until the next cycle then. Sure, Apple gained the money from the exclusive with Sprint, but it didn't make me upgrade with my current carrier. But maybe that outweighs all of 3GS owners...who knows
Disappointing
I am afraid the event tomorrow will be disappointing. It seems we will only see an iPhone 4Gs, with slightly improved features (camera, assistant, A5 chip) but the same screen and form factor. I don't believe this iPhone 5 exclusivity for Sprint. I think an iPhone 5 will be introduced.
I am afraid the event tomorrow will be disappointing. It seems we will only see an iPhone 4Gs, with slightly improved features (camera, assistant, A5 chip) but the same screen and form factor. I don't believe this iPhone 5 exclusivity for Sprint. I think an iPhone 5 will be introduced.
I've had every iPhone since the original in '07 and I typically upgrade after one year not two and AT&T has done well to retain me as a customer by allowing early upgrades...that being said...if an iPhone 5 is announced and it's not availiable on AT&T immediately I will try another Operating system not because I'm pouting and mad at Apple but because I like a new phone every summer...perhaps this is how Android will get me...or maybe a windows phone...but I'd NEVER switch to Sprint...unless someone else is paying the bill...seems pretty stupid for Apple to even consider...they'd make more money off iPhone 5 on Verizon and AT&T than this deal with Sprint...that should be obvious
where in that article is Sprint's denial? It just says "Bill White, a spokesman for Sprint, declined to comment. "
edit: never mind, posted by many other poeple
Last edited:
I doubt if Apple would use the S to designate Sprint. That would be carrier-specific branding which Apple doesn't do. Remember, Apple thinks of mobile operators as dumb pipes, nothing more.
You'll just wait, calm down in the meantime and buy it when it becomes available in your flavor
Apple already knows this to be true, yeah there will be some whining but in the end loyal customers will get the latest greatest and still buy it. Besides you can always jump to the best carrier and become a Sprintonian, LOL.
The more I try to do the math, the less sense it makes for Sprint to do this deal.
Most of these phones will have to be sold to their existing subscribers. Given that Verizon's iPhone launch didn't increase AT&T's churn, I can't imagine Verizon and AT&T users clamoring to jump to Sprint.
So assuming they sell most of these phones to their current subscribers, they'll incur over $600 per phone expense. They can try and pass some of this along to their subscribers (say $200 for them to get the phone). So now Sprint has lost $400 per subscriber to sell them the phone. Where do they make this up? New fees? Increased fees? Or is this the price to keep users from jumping to AT&T and Verizon? If so, this is a significant accelerant to their annual net losses and will significantly dampen any cash flow that can be used for either investments or acquisitions.
If the story about the $20B commitment to Apple is true, it almost certainly means that Sprint wouldn't be able to buy T-Mobile if the AT&T deal fails. Not with $10-20B of new debt just from the Apple deal.
Most of these phones will have to be sold to their existing subscribers. Given that Verizon's iPhone launch didn't increase AT&T's churn, I can't imagine Verizon and AT&T users clamoring to jump to Sprint.
So assuming they sell most of these phones to their current subscribers, they'll incur over $600 per phone expense. They can try and pass some of this along to their subscribers (say $200 for them to get the phone). So now Sprint has lost $400 per subscriber to sell them the phone. Where do they make this up? New fees? Increased fees? Or is this the price to keep users from jumping to AT&T and Verizon? If so, this is a significant accelerant to their annual net losses and will significantly dampen any cash flow that can be used for either investments or acquisitions.
If the story about the $20B commitment to Apple is true, it almost certainly means that Sprint wouldn't be able to buy T-Mobile if the AT&T deal fails. Not with $10-20B of new debt just from the Apple deal.
I'm not saying it would be completely worth it for Sprint, but hey, they can bet on it if they want ... I actually have Sprint service now, and like it. It's better and faster than AT&T where I am - and cheaper.
No matter what, I won't be getting a Sprint iPhone though ... I'm quite happy with my SGSII.
This will be the end of Sprint if it's true. Their networks sucks worse than AT&T's and they are bleeding to death with customer loss.
My guess is this:
Verizon and AT&T get the iPhone 4S and/or 5.
Sprint gets the iPhone 4GS and/or 5 (with 4g compatibility).
They are exactly the same with the exception that the Sprint version has 4G speeds. GRRR!!! Only 19.5 hours!!!!
- Joe
Verizon and AT&T get the iPhone 4S and/or 5.
Sprint gets the iPhone 4GS and/or 5 (with 4g compatibility).
They are exactly the same with the exception that the Sprint version has 4G speeds. GRRR!!! Only 19.5 hours!!!!
- Joe
Apple may not care about you, if, in exchange, they get 30M Sprint wimax customers instead (guaranteed payed for).
Plus, they have to lock AT&T subscribers out. AT&T only has LTE deployed in a couple text cities, and the good GSM+LTE chips aren't ready. Apple has zero choice about making you a new phone with a next-gen radio if there are no radio chips or deployed spectrum for you.
But if you can't wait, there will probably be a new model with a better CPU/GPU for you.
Sprint won't comment because they can't. I'm sure they have some agreement with Apple and will be getting the iPhone, just not this $20 billion/exclusive nonsense.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)
Just to be able to sell ANY iPhone model on their network. Hesse said the number 1 reason people leave Sprint is for the iPhone elsewhere. So he's gotta staunch the bleeding and get the iPhone to retain customers. It's their one shot at surviving, let alone growing.
mp0890 said:
Just to be able to sell ANY iPhone model on their network. Hesse said the number 1 reason people leave Sprint is for the iPhone elsewhere. So he's gotta staunch the bleeding and get the iPhone to retain customers. It's their one shot at surviving, let alone growing.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)
There WILL be a redesigned iPhone 5 tomorrow. Period.
There WON'T be a redesigned iPhone 5 tomorrow. Period.
Because they have no other business plan to compete with AT&T and Verizon having the iPhone.
The $20B isn't the price to enter the iPhone market, it is the price of 30 million iPhones. I'm confident that both AT&T and Verizon have minimum phone commitments with Apple that are probably significantly bigger than this (again, 30 million phones over 4 years isn't a big deal if you are a big carrier).
Yup. And 20 billion may be involved, but deep within clauses that are predicated on Sprint's success and network growing.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)
No. Apple went with AT&T because Verizon wouldn't cave to Apples business model for selling phones. AT&T was willing to roll over and be Apples biatch
mbarriault said:
No. Apple went with AT&T because Verizon wouldn't cave to Apples business model for selling phones. AT&T was willing to roll over and be Apples biatch