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Could the next iPhone be a Sprint exclusive?

pyroscott

By pyroscott
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pyroscott Member Level: LTE Advanced

pyroscott

Posted
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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 13 January 2012

 

While it was widely speculated that when the iPhone 4S was released, it might be a Sprint exclusive, it was not. Now the Kansas City Buisness Journal is speculating in the article "

Sprint’s iPhone deal may get much better, analyst says" that thanks to the lackluster marketing that Verizon and AT&T have put forth on the iPhone (probably figuring that it sells itself) that Apple may enter in an exclusive deal with Sprint. Apple may also include T-Mobile, Metro PCS and Leap wireless.

 

A twist on this is that if the iPhone 5 supports LTE, and Sprint and Apple agreed that Sprint would be exclusive when

they agreed to buy roughly $15 billion in iPhones from Apple during the next four years it could be the answer of why Sprint made the switch to LTE and why Sprint is so agressive with their network vision plan and rolling out LTE.

 

How great would it be for Sprint if they were the lone US carrier with the LTE equipped iPhone 5? Would their network even handle that stress without clearwire and/or LS2? If this speculation is true, I would be buying shares of Sprint in droves!

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legion125 Member Level: 4G WiMax

legion125

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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 13 January 2012

 

Not being a big Apple fan, but if Apple came out with a redesigned iP5 and it had all the LTE freq that Sprint was going to use (or at least the 800/1900 bands) that would be huge. Heck, I might even get interested in an iPhone.

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S4GRU Member Level: LTE Advanced

S4GRU

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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 13 January 2012

 

Great link, Scott! I'm just about to go into a meeting. But I think I am going to write a story about this when I get out. Thanks!

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WiWavelength Member Level: LTE Advanced

WiWavelength

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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 13 January 2012

 

Yes, I have long wondered this myself. Many think that Sprint overpaid for access to the iPhone for the next several years. So, for that huge outlay, what does Sprint get in return? As unlikely as it seems, an exclusive iPhone could be the return on that investment, could be the card up Sprint's sleeve.

 

AJ

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legion125 Member Level: 4G WiMax

legion125

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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 15 January 2012

 

With China being a big market for Apple and the iPhone and with them going to TD-LTE soon (same as Clearwire) there may be some truth to the rumor. I don't remember exactly with firm, but Clearwire is assisting one of the Chinese carriers with developing its TD-LTE market. That would certainly put the scale in front of Apple to include TB-LTE in its chip sets. That makes an intriguing thought for Sprint to get some exclusivity in the next iPhone variation.

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legion125 Member Level: 4G WiMax

legion125

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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 15 January 2012

 

It will be telling if the rumors about the iPad coming out in March has LTE. IMO, what the iPad has the iPhone will also. If it supports TD-LTE, then Spring may have a lock on getting an LTE version this fall.

 

Apple iPad 3 may get March release date, 4G

 

 

Apple's

iPad 3 will reportedly hit the market in March and work with Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.

According to Bloomberg, the iPad 3 will land in the calendar first quarter. Bloomberg cited manufacturing partners in Asia. In addition, the iPad 3 will sport a quad-core chip.

The iPad 3 is expected to be one of Apple's big revenue drivers for the upcoming year. While the iPad 3 is critical, most analysts expect the

iPhone 5, which is also expected to be 4G friendly, to drive sales more.

Volume manufacturing is expected to ramp up in February, according to Bloomberg.

If Bloomberg's report is on target, Apple is likely to see a slowdown in iPad 2 sales, which may already be taking a hit from Amazon's Kindle Fire. There has also been speculation that Apple will keep the iPad 2 around and play multiple price points.

Piper Jaffray

analyst Gene Munster handicapped Apple's iPad plans in a recent research note. He said:

Our model currently assumes iPad 3 will simply replace iPad 2; however, if Apple expands the iPad lineup to both higher and lower price points, the new iPads could support growth well above our current estimates. Our current CY13 revenue growth estimate for the iPad is 11%, with the bull case at 30%.

In a research note, Wedbush Securities analyst Craig Irwin said that the iPad 3 is likely to be a boon for battery suppliers. The iPad 3 is likely to have much more battery material in it. Irwin said suppliers like Simplo, Dynapack, and Polymore are likely to benefit.

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WiWavelength Member Level: LTE Advanced

WiWavelength

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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 15 January 2012

 

I would be careful not to extrapolate too much from the iPad 3. Chipset support for multiple band classes is not really the issue; most Qualcomm MSMs, MDMs, or SoCs already support far more numerous bands than are ever enabled in any one device.

 

Rather, antenna support seems to be the sticking point. Handheld devices that strive to be compact have only so much space available for cellular antennas, which grow in size and/or number to support additional bands. LTE further complicates matters, since it is MIMO enabled. And, as far as I know, all LTE devices released on VZW or AT&T thus far support 2x1 or 2x2 MIMO, thus they require two Rx diversity antennas.

 

As this pertains to the iPad 3, it is a tablet, so it should have far more space available for multiple antennas than will the eventual iPhone 4S successor. Additionally, if the iPhone 4S replacement does gain LTE capability, I would not be surprised if the current convergence to a single inventory iPhone 4S global model does not last, and Apple is forced to return to a multi inventory system just to support the innumerable LTE band classes being deployed worldwide.

 

AJ

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MacinJosh Member Level: LTE Advanced

MacinJosh

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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 16 January 2012

 

If the next iPhone will be a Sprint exclusive, I would be surprised. The investment in making LTE chips for Sprint LTE bands is extensive enough, and that could be why Sprint paid so much to Apple for the iPhone.

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twospirits Member Level: LTE Advanced

twospirits

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Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 15 January 2012

 

exclusive?.. not a chance.

I agree.

 

One thing that a lot of folks fail to realize is that Sprint wanted this device so badly and Apple knew this and set the terms. Sprint went for it hook line and sinker. Apple got what it wanted and so did Sprint, and Apple is under no obligation to offer Sprint an exclusive. It would be nice because it would bring new customers which Sprint needs badly but I doubt it unless Sprint pays dearly for the exclusive on top of what they already did for the previous deal.

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S4GRU Member Level: LTE Advanced

S4GRU

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I agree.

 

One thing that a lot of folks fail to realize is that Sprint wanted this device so badly and Apple knew this and set the terms. Sprint went for it hook line and sinker. Apple got what it wanted and so did Sprint, and Apple is under no obligation to offer Sprint an exclusive. It would be nice because it would bring new customers which Sprint needs badly but I doubt it unless Sprint pays dearly for the exclusive on top of what they already did for the previous deal.

 

I agree with this thinking, but I'm only 99% sure. There is one percent of me that is a naive child that holds on to hope for the impossible. :)

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