All of the iPhones sold by Apple next year will be 5G-capable, including its budget handset, according to a Nikkei Asia report. Apple’s commitment to 5G comes with the elimination of new 4G phones, sources told Nikkei Asia. Even the OEM’s cheapest handset, the iPhone SE, will go 5G and sport Apple’s premium A15 processor and Qualcomm’s X60 modem chip, the Asian publication added.
There will be no more iPhone Mini next year, after the premium smartphone failed to catch on, according to media reports. Apple’s first 5G iPhone entered the market in 2020, preceded by Samsung Electronics, Oppo, Xiaomi and Huawei Technologies, which introduced 5G-capable phones in 2019.
Nonetheless, Apple’s complete commitment to 5G will be good news for the carriers, which are pushing 5G phones as a way to get more customers on their networks. The more 5G phones the carriers can offer, the better, it appears.
In the second quarter, Verizon reported increased 5G adoption and record performance. Total consumer revenue was $23.5 billion in the second quarter, an increase of 11.2 percent year over year, according to Verizon’s earnings report.
Retail postpaid net additions at Verizon in the second quarter were 350,000, including 197,000 phone net additions. 5G-phone adoption accounted for 20 percent of consumer wireless phone customers and step-ups to premium unlimited plans, the carrier reported.
In the last month, and up until yesterday, Verizon has been offering free 5G phones for existing customers who trade in their current phone and sign up for an unlimited data plan. The carrier paid for users of its competitors to switch carriers and trade in their old phones for a new 5G smartphone, free of charge, if they sign up for an unlimited data plan.
Earlier this month, AT&T announced its “back to school” sale where both new and existing customers receive $700 off of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro models with an eligible AT&T unlimited plan and eligible trade-in, making iPhone 12 mini essentially free. Another deal takes $800 off all of the phones in the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G lineup. And, as with Verizon’s plan, the user must sign up for an unlimited data plan.
This Friday, July 23, T-Mobile is launching its “back to school” offer for a free iPhone 12 (up to four per family) or $830 off any iPhone 12 series with 24 monthly bill credits when a user trades in an eligible phone. A user must be signed up for the carrier’s high-end unlimited data package.
Get half off family lines (lines 3-8) on T-Mobile’s latest plans (Essentials, Magenta, Magenta MAX). That means adding a line with unlimited talk, text and data, including 5G, starts at less than $10 per month.
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