Apple’s iPhone may be the hottest smartphone on the market and, perhaps because of that, there’s no shortage of speculation as to what the company has planned next.
Now several sources have confirmed Apple is planning a new iPhone for this summer and, as EnterpriseMobileToday reports, may also be ready to end its exclusive carrier relationship with AT&T.
Is Apple ready to branch out from its exclusive relationship with carrier AT&T in the U.S. and offer the iPhone on Verizon’s network? Such a move has been rumored for at least a year, but is now heating up.
A Wall Street Journal article Tuesday said Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is working on a new iPhone that will work on the CDMA wireless network used by Verizon Wireless. CDMA (define) is also used by Sprint and a handful of carriers outside the U.S., notably in Japan and South Korea. The iPhone uses the GSM (define) network favored by AT&T and most carriers worldwide.
Apple is widely expected to bring out a new iPhone model later this summer as it has the past three years. The Journal, citing sources it said have been briefed on the matter, said one of the new iPhone models will be made for Verizon.
“We’re not commenting on rumors and speculation,” Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris told InternetNews.com. Apple has had an exclusive contract with AT&T (NYSE: T) since the iPhone debuted in 2007. It’s not clear how long the contract runs or how long any exclusivity provisions are for.