AT&T rep reportedly claims Apple said no new iPhone in June or July - rumor

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
According to an unverified report, an AT&T representative has asserted that Apple has informed the carrier that it does not plan to release a new version of the iPhone in June or July of this year.



MacRumors reported on Wednesday that AT&T customer care representatives claim to have heard directly from Apple that the launch of the next-generation iPhone will miss the company's usual early summer timeframe.



"Apple has informed us that they do not plan to release the iPhone in the June to July timeframe, though there will be a newer version in the future," the report noted the AT&T representative as saying. "Unfortunately, we have not been given a release time for the new phone. We will release this information on our website when it is available to us."



The representative made the comments after a reader allegedly called AT&T over concerns that his upgrade eligibility had been pushed back several months.



The rumor should, of course, be taken with a grain of salt. The report's author Eric Slivka warns that he is "always skeptical about such information shared by customer-facing representatives of Apple or associated companies."



However, Slivka add that "due to the specific nature of the claim and its presentation in a matter-of-fact manner expressly citing Apple as the source of the information, the tidbit is worth sharing."



Despite the dubious nature of the report, it does appear to track with a number of other sources. Last month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with Concord Securities told AppleInsider that supply chain sources indicated Apple's next handset would not begin production until September. Reuters also reported last month that sources claim the next iPhone won't arrive until September.



Apple has traditionally unveiled a new iPhone at the annual Worldwide Developer Conference in June. However, this year's WWDC, which takes place from June 6 to June 10 at San Francisco's Moscone West, is expected to be a software-centric event. In its announcement, Apple teased that this year's show will "unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS."



Reports have suggested that the so-called iPhone 5 will feature only minor upgrades to its form factor and features, though the device has been rumored to house an 8-megapixel camera and may feature a larger display.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    I don't know if you could say the lack of (or absence of) confirmation automatically means that it won't happen. Also keep in mind that AT&T isn't able to comment on, or say anything about unannounced Apple products.
  • Reply 2 of 22
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    I don't know if you could say the lack of (or absence of) confirmation automatically means that it won't happen. Also keep in mind that AT&T isn't able to comment on, or say anything about unannounced Apple products.





    Indeed. Apple tells few and those that they do tell are under orders to keep it to themselves.



    ATT never bumps up eligibilities until they know the release date. Until then they want to keep you on your current device for as long as they can milk you.



    As for the whole supply chain, we don't know the specs but it is possible that all the parts are being used in current items so they just dont know that they are sending 100k whatevers for a phone and not the other thing.



    as for the WWDC thing, I can buy that. THey want to get it back to the software focus it was created for. but that doesn't mean they couldn't do an on campus announcement that same week if they wanted to
  • Reply 3 of 22
    blowabsblowabs Posts: 70member
    pICS WOULD HAVE BEEN OUT ALREADY FROM CHINA....lol,,,
  • Reply 4 of 22
    kingkueikingkuei Posts: 137member
    Sounds plausible enough to me. On the last earnings call I believe it was Tim Cook who made the comment that the first generation of LTE chipsets would have forced design compromises that Apple was unwilling to make. Very similar to what they said about the original iPhone. The big difference I can see today vs 4 years ago is that consumers and carriers alike both recognize the importance of a fast cell data network now, whereas in pre-iPhone 2006/2007, having a 3G radio didn't offer any major benefits because there were no applications or phones prevalent enough to require that faster network. Today though, both Verizon and very soon AT&T will be going full speed on LTE deployment, having now recognized the need for ever-faster data. The one who builds out more coverage, more quickly, will have a great advantage in the short term, enough to acquire a few customers and lock them in for two years. It would be somewhat foolhardy for Apple to ignore LTE in this next update, and if they are waiting for a 2nd gen chipset, then the delay to later in 2011 (or even early 2012?) makes sense.
  • Reply 5 of 22
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KingKuei View Post


    Sounds plausible enough to me. On the last earnings call I believe it was Tim Cook who made the comment that the first generation of LTE chipsets would have forced design compromises that Apple was unwilling to make. Very similar to what they said about the original iPhone. The big difference I can see today vs 4 years ago is that consumers and carriers alike both recognize the importance of a fast cell data network now, whereas in pre-iPhone 2006/2007, having a 3G radio didn't offer any major benefits because there were no applications or phones prevalent enough to require that faster network. Today though, both Verizon and very soon AT&T will be going full speed on LTE deployment, having now recognized the need for ever-faster data. The one who builds out more coverage, more quickly, will have a great advantage in the short term, enough to acquire a few customers and lock them in for two years. It would be somewhat foolhardy for Apple to ignore LTE in this next update, and if they are waiting for a 2nd gen chipset, then the delay to later in 2011 (or even early 2012?) makes sense.



    LTE can wait until next summer. LTE service won't be widespread for years. Verizon is practically the only carrier actively deploying LTE, being forced to since CDMA is at the end of the rope. It's only in a handful of markets now. AT&T likely won't begin rollout until end of next year. AT&T and other GSM carriers are upgrading to HSPA+ instead of jumping to straight to LTE. Apple will definitely bump up baseband to 14Mbs (or maybe 21Mbs) from current 7.2Mbs. It would be foolish to make sacrifices that would only appeal to maybe 5% of target market, if that.
  • Reply 6 of 22
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by blowabs View Post


    pICS WOULD HAVE BEEN OUT ALREADY FROM CHINA....lol,,,



    Come back when you're even going to attempt to be serious.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Turley Muller View Post


    LTE can wait until next summer.



    Agreed.



    Quote:

    Verizon is... ...being forced...



    Not in the slightest.



    Quote:

    It would be foolish to make sacrifices that would only appeal to maybe 5% of target market, if that.



    Realize that 5% becomes 75% within three years.
  • Reply 7 of 22
    gotwakegotwake Posts: 115member
    "An AT&T customer care representatives tells a customer"

    now, I'm a believer.....
  • Reply 8 of 22
    shogunshogun Posts: 362member
    Josh Ong,



    Next time you want to put "should be taken with a grain of salt" in your piece DON'T!!!



    Seriously, you're making me crazy. It's in nearly every piece of yours and is never used entirely correctly. The phrase means "should be completely disregarded and given no thought at all.".



    In today's artie that's obviously not true because 1) you're reporting it, and 2) it's an Att rep saying it.



    So please please please never write that phrase again. And think twice before using idioms in writing. They rarely ever work very well.



    Thanks,

    Shogun
  • Reply 9 of 22
    Rumors rumors rumors. How many more times do we need to see apple dispel another rumor as they will again on this one?
  • Reply 10 of 22
    jmkazajmkaza Posts: 10member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Shogun View Post


    Josh Ong,



    Next time you want to put "should be taken with a grain of salt" in your piece DON'T!!!



    Seriously, you're making me crazy. It's in nearly every piece of yours and is never used entirely correctly. The phrase means "should be completely disregarded and given no thought at all.".



    In today's artie that's obviously not true because 1) you're reporting it, and 2) it's an Att rep saying it.



    So please please please never write that phrase again. And think twice before using idioms in writing. They rarely ever work very well.



    Thanks,

    Shogun



    The fact that it's an AT&T rep saying it is why it should be taken with a grain of salt. AT&T customer service reps are minimum wage phone jockeys that probably won't know the release date of the new iPhone until customers start calling in with issues about it. They definitely wouldn't have undisclosed information.
  • Reply 11 of 22
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Turley Muller View Post


    LTE can wait until next summer. LTE service won't be widespread for years. Verizon is practically the only carrier actively deploying LTE, being forced to since CDMA is at the end of the rope. It's only in a handful of markets now. AT&T likely won't begin rollout until end of next year. AT&T and other GSM carriers are upgrading to HSPA+ instead of jumping to straight to LTE. Apple will definitely bump up baseband to 14Mbs (or maybe 21Mbs) from current 7.2Mbs. It would be foolish to make sacrifices that would only appeal to maybe 5% of target market, if that.



    AT&T has already begun marketing 4G, but it's unclear what it actually is (I'm assuming it must be LTE). I would expect we won't see full 4G coverage for some time. When the original iPhone was introduced, 3G was being deployed by both AT&T and Verizon (even though the iPhone did not have 3G support). 4 years later, 3G is now pretty much the data standard.



    LTE is still in its infancy. It's about where 3G was in 2005 or early 2006. I would suspect that LTE will not saturate the market for another 2-3 years. My guess is that Apple will release a 4G/LTE capable phone this fall or perhaps early next year, when LTE is available in major areas.
  • Reply 12 of 22
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    Here's what Wiki says:



    On January 5, 2011, AT&T announced that it would be launching its 4G LTE network in the 2nd half of 2011, with a goal of deployment being "largely complete" by the end of 2013.[19]



    On January 6, 2011, Verizon Wireless announced that it plans to add more than 100 LTE markets to cover 175 million people by the end of 2011, have 2/3 of the US population covered by mid-2012, and provide nationwide coverage by the end of 2013.[20]



    So that fits in the 2-3 year timeframe. Who knows...Apple may still not support it with iPhone 5.
  • Reply 13 of 22
    nofeernofeer Posts: 2,427member
    any vacation blackouts?, that tells alot

    my sister's BFF at ATT water cooler heard from the ......yea right

    iPhone 5 will be huge, they have to have prep work, look for symptoms of anticipated massive selling volume.
  • Reply 14 of 22
    b9botb9bot Posts: 238member
    News reports already said it would be late summer or Fall before the latest iPhone might be released. Other smartphone makers also were mentioned as delaying there latest products.

    No reason was given though.
  • Reply 15 of 22
    My thoughts, I suspect (from everything I've read) that Apple does not have a new phone to introduce. It will have been a year since 2010 WWDC when ATT introduced iPhone 4, BUT only 4-5 months for Verizon iPhone 4. I don't think Apple wants Verizon iPhone 4 customers to feel like they just got an obsolete product. That coupled with all the problems in Japan = no new iPhone at WWDC in June,



    BUT, how about this.....



    With no new Apple iPhone to introduce AND Apple not wanting to loose their WWDC thunder AND with interest waning by June in iPhone 4 (people wanting to wait until fall for the new iPhone), Apple announces price reductions on iPhone4 (so they have some sales to show for the summer and they make a BIG splash at the WWDC!). How about 16GB iPhone4 for $99 and 32GB iPhone4 for $199 with a 2 year contract?
  • Reply 16 of 22
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GotWake View Post


    "An AT&T customer care representatives tells a customer"

    now, I'm a believer.....



    Did he say, "Thank you for calling AT&T. My name Peggy. What is problem?"
  • Reply 17 of 22
    kingkueikingkuei Posts: 137member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Turley Muller View Post


    LTE can wait until next summer. LTE service won't be widespread for years. Verizon is practically the only carrier actively deploying LTE, being forced to since CDMA is at the end of the rope. It's only in a handful of markets now. AT&T likely won't begin rollout until end of next year. AT&T and other GSM carriers are upgrading to HSPA+ instead of jumping to straight to LTE. Apple will definitely bump up baseband to 14Mbs (or maybe 21Mbs) from current 7.2Mbs. It would be foolish to make sacrifices that would only appeal to maybe 5% of target market, if that.



    This is not entirely factual. AT&T this year announced an accelerated schedule to deploy a working LTE network some time between mid-2011 and late-2011. Note that this is not a testing phase, but an actual production network. So no, Verizon is not the only carrier pursuing LTE, they simply have a half year head start. And both carriers have indicated that they will have most of their network upgraded, by the end of 2013, with the outlying, underserved areas taking up to the end of 2015. This contradicts your "5% coverage" argument given that the most likely deployment areas will be high population concentration metros where the carrier can get the highest return on the smallest investment, a la Verizon's 30+ city launch of LTE. These "handful of markets" are more populated than you think and there is an acceleration of deployment compared to the 3G rollout of 2006+. And as another commentor pointed out, 5% at the start quickly turns to 40-50% in a year, then the 60%-90% by the end of 2013. It is clear that carriers expect their 4G ramp up and build out to far exceed that of any previous generation. Yes I'm sure Apple will offer upgraded Qualcomm chips that support the highest categories of HSPA+, but only because Qualcomm baked them in to the chip, not because Apple felt a sudden urge to include them explicitly. This doesn't take anything away from the case for debuting LTE on iPhone 5. Lower ping times and higher throughput are certainly desirable to Apple, possibly leading to services like FaceTime over cell data for example or whatever they've got cooking up for MobileMe/iCloud.
  • Reply 18 of 22
    macslutmacslut Posts: 514member
    See:

    http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...1147308&page=6



    He finally "remembers" significantly downgrading his account even after several comments suggesting that this or other things will alter your early upgrade qualification.



    My early upgrade is still set for 6/25/2011, and I bought the iPhone 4 on launch day 6/24/2011.



    The source of this rumor could not be any more unreliable, and even then he's supposedly quoting from a rep who would have no knowledge of products. See the MacRumors thread for other AT&T rep comments.



    EDIT: This doesn't mean that the new iPhone will come out on 6/25/2011 either, but clearly this rumor has no validity to it and unfortunately will just be added to the chatter indicating a Fall release. If the past is any indication, it could be just weeks before the release before we actually start seeing tell-tale signs (vacation day blocking, leaked photos, cases, supply chain reports, log files, etc...)
  • Reply 19 of 22
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    And then there's this rumor in case anyone is interested.



    http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/20...ase-this-fall/



    Two iPhones this fall anyone?
  • Reply 20 of 22
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    And then there's this rumor in case anyone is interested.



    http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/20...ase-this-fall/



    Two iPhones this fall anyone?



    Hmm I think the two iPhones will be white and black, that's it. With CDMA models to worry about I don't think another SKU (besides storage variation) is what Apple wants.
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