14 DAY TRIAL // Another day, another reports on the future iPhone model that Apple is currently preparing for launch. This time around, rumors has it that the said device would come only with support for AT&T's 4G network, leaving Verizon's customers out. This means that AT&T's customers would once again benefit from some treats from their wireless carrier, including access to faster broadband speeds than what Verizon might offer to them.
However, there are a few aspects of this deal that should be clarified, for things are not as they might seem to be.
For the beginning, as should note that, although it would be a 4G-capable device, the next Apple iPhone model won't come with support for LTE (Long Term Evolution).
In other words, it would be HSPA+-enabled, and would connect to AT&T's recently upgraded network, just as some of the previous rumors on the matter suggested.
While being called iPhone 5 at the moment, the handset was previously referred to as iPhone 4S. One way or the other, it would be released before the end of this year, and ahead of the LTE-capable iPhone many have been already waiting for.
One other thing that needs be said here involves the next iPhone model, which should arrive as iPhone 6, it seems, and which would connect to Verizon's 4G LTE network. It would support AT&T's HSPA+ airwaves too, rumor has it.
A recent report from Hudson Square Research‘s Todd Rethemeier was the one to unveil all of these details, as can be read in this article on Barron's.
“For AT&T iPhone 5 users, this could mean download speeds of 5-10 Mbps, compared to less than 1 Mbps for a Verizon user. Certainly, when an LTE iPhone is introduced AT&T would lose some of its marketing advantage,” Rethemeier reportedly stated.
“However, even when that happens, the phone will be backwards compatible, so the AT&T iPhone 6 would be able to roam onto the HSPA+ network when an LTE network is not available, giving AT&T an advantage in suburban and rural areas for several more years, we believe.”
This report is in line with previous rumors on Apple's plans for the next iPhone models. Although nothing is official on the matter, it appears that confirmation is almost here.
The Cupertino-based company is expected to launch the new iPhone at the WWDC2011 conference, which should kick off next week. However, the device was rumored to land only in fall, and the unveiling might have been delayed.