Both Verizon Wireless iPhone and next generation iPad about to hit field testing?
One of our Apple sources has just informed us of something very interesting. Way down deep within iOS 4 is a pretty intriguing block of code. Our source says that the code queries the device …
Context & Ripple Effects
The Verizon-iPhone rumor has a paper trail: Business Week flagged new Apple-and-Verizon gear back in April 2009, MacRumors reported in November 2009 that Apple had started field testing the next-generation iPhone (3,1), and the Wall Street Journal reported in March 2010 that two new iPhones were coming, one possibly aimed at Verizon. A separate rumor already circulating this month puts a CDMA iPhone 4 on Verizon as early as January, though with noted skepticism.
Boy Genius Report's claim — that code inside iOS 4 queries the device in a way suggesting both a Verizon Wireless iPhone and a next-generation iPad are close to field testing — matters because it would move Apple's hardware from a single US carrier onto the country's largest network, ending the AT&T exclusivity that has defined the iPhone since launch.
First-order effects
- A confirmed Verizon iPhone would immediately open Apple's flagship product to Verizon's subscriber base, breaking AT&T's US exclusivity, while a Verizon-capable next-gen iPad would give the tablet its first alternative to GSM carriers in the US.
Second-order effects
- Android handset makers who currently own the Verizon smartphone shelf — and Verizon itself, which has used that lineup as its answer to the iPhone — would face the original iPhone competing on their home network, forcing refreshed hardware and pricing responses.
Third-order effects
- If Apple ships the same device family across multiple carriers, the era of exclusive US carrier lockups for marquee smartphones weakens structurally, pushing competition toward network quality and price rather than device availability.
The trend: US smartphone distribution is shifting from single-carrier exclusive deals toward multi-carrier flagship launches, with Apple's rumored CDMA move as the pivotal test case.