Apple to launch new IPhone
Apple plans to release a new version of its current iPhone this summer, continuing its practice of annual upgrades at about the same time of year.
For the American telephony firm AT&T, the Apple relationship has been crucial, helping to make the carrier the U.S. leader of the smart-phone market share. Recent research has indicated that AT&T has over 43% of all U.S. smart-phone customers, compared with 23% for Verizon. These customers are especially attractive because they generally pay higher monthly rates for data plans.
For a while quarters, AT&T’s growth has come almost single-handedly from the iPhone. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the carrier said it activated 3.1 million new iPhones. In comparison, it counted only a net total of 2.7 million new subscribers as some customers moved from other phones to iPhones.
Making the iPhone available through Verizon, which has over 91 million customers, could open up a significant new market. In 2009, iPhone sales globally rose 83% to 25.1 million. Since Apple already dominates smart-phone sales through existing partners, “sooner rather than later, Apple is going to have to look to find incremental distribution,” said Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi. He estimates Verizon could help Apple nearly double the number of iPhone users in the U.S.
Analysts estimate AT&T pays Apple more than $600 per phone, but sells most of them for $199 or less. Heavy iPhone users have also put an enormous load on AT&T’s wireless network, pushing the carrier to a breaking point in some markets such as New York and San Francisco
