“The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint has entered into an agreement with Apple to purchase over $20 billion worth of iPhones over the next four years — that’s around 30 million iPhones,” Jonathan S. Geller reports for BGR. “It’s said that Sprint won’t even break even on the transaction until 2014, which is surely a huge risk on Sprint’s part, but why?”
“I have been going back and forth for weeks with one of my incredibly solid industry contacts on a piece of information that I couldn’t really process at first — information that is so unbelievable, even from a source this solid, that I couldn’t report it,” Geller reports. “With this new WSJ report on an Apple/Sprint deal, however, it doesn’t look so crazy.”
Geller reports, “I have been told that Sprint will be getting the iPhone 5 — yes the real iPhone 5, not the iPhone 4S — as an exclusive. And it will be a 4G WiMAX device. AT&T and Verizon would launch the iPhone 4S and get the iPhone 5 some time in the first quarter of next year as an LTE device. Globally, the iPhone 5 might be available as a 4G HSPA+ device.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The rumor mill is spinning so fast now that it’s about to affect the earth’s rotation. We’ll find out for sure starting at 10am PT/1pm ET tomorrow!
Related article:
Sprint to ‘bet the company’ on Apple iPhone; to buy $20 billion worth of iPhones over next four years – October 3, 2011
Yeah, right.
Has anyone else noticed Sprints market cap is just 9.2 Billion? Down ten percent today on “good news.” Where is the 20 Billion coming from.
It’s not 20 Billion upfront! It would be paid quarterly so in theory Sprint would begin to realize profit after 90 days. That’s a good deal. They’ve got keep selling phones for 4 years but if iPhone 5-6 and beyond carried then it should be a problem. 6 million customers per quarter they’d be mad not to sign up to the deal.
how stupid is this report , please let tomorrow be here now , I can’t take anymore rumors
THE SKY IS FALLING.
THE iCLOUDiness fogs my thought.
I’m starting to think different – please Apple oh PLEASE let there be a Santa. I want my, I want my – iPHONEtv!
The plot thickens.
don’t think so..
Sprint is the worst carrier. Even though I want a iPhone 5, i’d pass on it if my option was Sprint. I know of MANY dead spots with sprint around here.
Perhaps near you. Here, At&T and T-Mobile are by FAR the worst carriers. It’s not even close.
Ignorant nonsense.
30 million iPhones in 4 years is less than 2 million devices per quarter. Apple sells almost 6 million iPhones per quarter already now.
(I mean sales in USA.)
There is no way Apple would refuse to sale iPhone 5 to current carriers.
Too bad MDN fell to BGR’s cheap tabloid tricks.
This hasn’t raised BGR’s credibility rating with me yet. If they turn out to be right, I may change my mind about them. But this sounds very wrong.
That means Sprint will have to sell 1.9 million iPhones per quarter. Not that outrageous, rather in line with expectations.
Crazy talk… iPhone 5 madness… what the hey….
Apple has no news posted since Sept 20th – what about this event tomorrow? Can I not see it?
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint has entered into an agreement with Apple to purchase over $20 billion worth of iPhones over the next four years — that’s around 30 million iPhones…
So, wall street isn’t saying “exclusive” but the moron from BGR is.
That’s crazy talk! I see Sprint with an exclusive Wimax iPhone 5, with AT&T and Verizon getting just a 3G iPhone 5 until next year when LTE becomes more ubiquitous, but I don’t see any chance in hell Sprint getting the bigger screen iPhone 5 exclusively. $20B to piss off all its AT&T and Verizon customers? Not going to happen.
MDN — “The rumor mill is spinning so fast now that it’s about to affect the earth’s rotation. We’ll find out for sure starting at 10am PT/1pm ET tomorrow!”
YOU ARE SO SO RIGHT – MDN!!!!
iPhone5 mayhem – iOS5 craze – iCloudiness – Apple Help
I have to agree. The after hours on Apple is basically flat.
Dam you Greece!
a literal LOL on that take, MDN! 🙂
That makes absolutely no sense. Apple is not about to fragment their own ecosystem by giving exclusivity on one of their most anticipated products to the smallest possible carrier.
BGR has a horrible track record with these kinds of ‘reports’.
I must admit my opinion is based upon minor anger about this stupid rumor.
Sprint has half the customers AT&T and VZ have. Half. 50 Million. Why would apple contract exclusively with #3 – Sprint? Can’t build iPhone 5 fast enough? Contract is too good? It’s not even guaranteed unless Sprint is financing the contract they will not even break even on.
I’m not buying any damn phone (I’m on AT&T) if I don’t get the new one on my network. Especially if the 5 comes out mid-cycle.
This is stupid and this is nuts.
(I sold my iP4 10 days ago in anticipation for the 5. NOT the 4S – standing in the shadow of a 5 on an inferior network).
Wow!
limited production capacity. Can only manufacture so many the first quarter, so only offer them on the smallest carrier until you can ramp up production and offer them on all carriers.
BETTER NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all of the people that switched to ATT for the sole reason of the iPhone are going to be upset if this happens. loyalty to customers says this can’t possibly be true
Rumors. Brought to you by those that misinterpreted the Mayan calendar. After tomorrow, we will be less stressed, and the control voice will restore our regularly scheduled programming.
Dumb story full of FUD!
That’s it. I’m not reading anything else until 10:10 tomorrow. This is out of hand…
oh come on, there will be NO more rumors about the iPhone 4S/5.
all the rumors are out there, there is nothing new to report on.
Wait… Just got an email telling me I can order the 5S now!
Damn Apple loves me more than you.
😉
If it was 4G and only exclusive for a quarter or two, I could see it. With a big enough incentive from Sprint.
Why not $50B … make it a real nightmare!
Can you imagine a CEO going to a board and say “… we’re going to buy a phone that, if not successful will put us out of business”, and “btw: other companies will get it soon”
… I just don’t buy it!
30 million iPhones over 4 years isn’t really a lot of iPhones.
More likely, Sprint had to commit to that amount just to get the iPhone at all.
I can’t stand it!! My whole reason for living is these Apple announcements and I’m not switching to Sprint. I’ve GOT to have a new phone and I’ve GOT to order it tomorrow. PLEASE!!
this would cause me to go to another phone altogether
this would cause me to go to another phone altogether xperia play here I come
Zzzzzzzz….
Sprint has to pay Apple even if they don’t sell them. Reluctantly, the Board signed off on this deal. Sprint is banking the Company on this deal.
And, if Sprint has the exclusive right to the 5, lest we not forget AT&T exclusive rights to the iPhone for three years, it would not be that hard to see it happening–by HTC or other, but by Apple?
When the uPhone came out, AT&T won, Verizon said no and mo one else even in the picture. But in 2011, this seems ludicrous especially since Apple would lose money.
Oh, well, tomorrow will clear up this horror. Bout the iPhone 5 was not on AT&T or Verizon’s inventory lists either.
If this did happen I would not upgrade my iPhone 4. In fact I may just abandon the iPhone altogether and go back to Android!
So u can’t be patient enough to wait for a few months until the phone is released on your carrier? Yea go get an Android phone like I did and live to regret the purchase every day. While my friends enjoy their iPhones on VZW, I am stuck with with POS HTC Inc. for another year.
and watch out for that HTC security problem now. (scroll down on MDN)
Oh wait, you didn’t want to hear any more reasons to regret the purchase right?
Well, yea… now that you mention it. I’d probably stick with the iPhone. I’d just be pretty pissed at Apple for doing this. Just like everyone else who is on AT&T or VZN.
Greil Memorial Psychiatric
2140 Upper Wetumpka Road,
Montgomery, AL 36107-1342
I recommend it after your “abandonment”.
There won’t be a Sprint iPhone 5 exclusive, unless their is a major rift with ATT Verizon.
WOW! JUST WOW!
Apple’s not known for their loyalty to their customers.
Wasn’t AT&T #3 when they got the original iPhone? They were willing to give Apple what they wanted.
No way Sprint got an exclusive, UNLESS Sprint is paying Apple to keep the iPhone 5 OFF of T-Mobile.
The U.S. wireless industry has really become three-tiered: AT&T and Verizon; Sprint and T-Mobile; everyone else.
Sprint needs to keep itself in that distant third position and not let T-Mobile either get assimilated by AT&T or overtake it. Being a third outlet for the iPhone 5 would do just that, but only if T-Mobile doesn’t get it as well.
BTW, I’m not switching to Sprint if it has the iPhone 5 exclusively for a few months. I’ll wait it out until AT&T gets it.
If this deal is true Apple just purchase half of Sprint. Now Apple can have better control over it iCloud without the data limits that ATT and Verizon put on it service.
Could this explain why AT&T says I am not eligible for an upgrade until 2012?
I went to an AT&T store today, Since I bought the iPhone 4 on launch day..
Asked about when I could upgrade since the iPhone 5 discussion is tomorrow. Nov 24th is our early upgrade date for those that bought on day one.
but… AT&T IS allowing earlier upgrades up to an extra 30 days..
So if nothing else I can upgrade to the iPhone 5 on Oct 24th, but I HAVE to do it in store.. can’t online or order from Apple.
That is unless AT&T repeats what they did when the iPhone 4 launched, and allowed iPhone 3/3G users upgrade early. The Manager told me to check back after the Apple event tomorrow, AT&T may have policy changes. the iPhone 4 early upgrade last year, AT&T announced the change either the day of or the day after the iPhone 4 unveiling.
Don’t go online to check, go in store.
This is just dumb on so many levels:
First, Sprint does not have nor can it raise that kind of cash.
Second, an exclusive to a carrier that has less than 1/4 of the user base at this time is worse than stupid.
Third, building a WiMax phone when Sprint has already stated they are moving to LTE over the next two to three years (and have already started deploying LTE) is just too dumb for words. Why design something you KNOW will be obsolete and useless in two years?
How is Amazon’s new Kindle Fire the front line in a battle for the future?
They may be losing $50/ Fire sold. But this is not an e-reader, this is a general purpose tablet computer, so not everyone will buy a lot of books.
The stakes are high in this desperate strategy!
— http://jmmxtech.wordpress.com/kindle-fire/ —
Select the “Analysis” link.
Not likely an exclusive deal. Apple would be far better off giving Sprint the go ahead to sell phones on there network and also have AT&T and Verizon doing the same. An exclusive deal now doesn’t make any sense and wouldn’t give Apple more profits because you have two other carriers that could sell twice as many phones than Sprint. The only reason AT&T got an exclusive deal with the iPhone in the beginning is because no other carrier thought the iPhone had any chance of being successful. Boy were they WRONG!
I hope that this is true because Sprint has great service everywhere I go unlike AT&T which is terrible. And Sprint still has unlimited data and their 4G is fast. Because this seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t.