Apple has officially informed AT&T that there will be no new iPhone this June or July, according to a customer care representative for the carrier. One AT&T customer noticed his eligibility date for a subsidized upgrade had been pushed back by over five months; when he contacted the carrier for an explanation, a rep gave him the following statement:
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. 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.
It’s unusual that this kind of information would be passed down to employees ahead of an official Apple announcement, however, you can’t help but feel this particular AT&T rep is right. As June gets closer, the number of reports that suggests a later-than-usual iPhone release are increasing, and any hope of a new iPhone before September is quickly being quashed.
Apple is now expected to announce a new iPhone at its yearly iPod event traditionally held every September.
[via MacRumors]
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
16 responses to “No New iPhone in June or July, Apple Tells AT&T”
Telekom Germany told me via phone that they expact an update earliest in January 2012
First off Apple does not tell anyone what they will be or won’t be doing ever! Hence why these Apple rumor blogs are so popular. Second off a lowly customer service rep is so far down the food chain he/she certainly would not have this kind of info Apple holds close to the vest and only the inner circle of Apple execs is privy too. Finally, the AT&T rep likely has sales numbers to meet and said that to a perspective iPhone buyer to get them to separate their wallet from the ass now and make a sale for the sake of his/her numbers.
This is not news, this is not AT&T officially making an announcement as the title would have you believe, this is garbage pure and simple. The next iPhone will likely be released later than the traditional June time frame, but that AT&T customer service rep knows about as much of the release and details of the next iPhone as my grandmother who owns a Jitterbug does, in other words he/she knows nothing.
This is moronic, and if Apple does this, they’re going to have a lot of unhappy customers.
AT&T’s contract lasts 24 months. After 18, you can get upgrade pricing. For people who bought the iPhone when it came out, they’re going to have to wait over 24 months to get it, which means extending their contract without buying the new iPhone.
This is going to hurt sales, and piss a lot of people off. Apple better get their shit together and get back on a summer release schedule… because I bought my iPhone 4 last July, and I really want to be able to get the iPhone 6 with my next upgrade.
After your contract is up, you continue your service without a contract. You don’t need to extend your contract until you purchase a subsidized phone. Your new contract starts the day you purchase your next phone, assuming you are out of contract.
That’s part of the proof that this is likely a bogus quote. Because the eligibility is based on your contract and your rate plan. The reason the guy’s changed is more likely because he dropped to a lower voice plan. The lower your voice plan the longer they make you wait (22 months rather than 18 months).
Apple has zero to do with that. ATT has chosen in the past to push up the dates on their own to keep folks around.
IF Apple has told ATT anything and they are denying they were if you go read the full article, it would be with the understanding that they keep their mouths shut.
My guess is that someone is believing the rumors are truth and spoke out of turn (and if they are ever found out will likely not be speaking anything as an ATT employee)
“First off Apple does not tell anyone what they will be or won’t be doing ever!”
That EVER is not true. There are plenty of times that Apple has laid down the law on folks.
However you are correct that part of the deal with ATT is that Apple doesn’t get control over carrier issues. ATT decides who passes the credit check, when folks can eligible for what upgrade. ATT gets to keep all corporate paid accounts in house. Etc.
As for the rumor, folks are basing this on the implication that WWDC is going to be software only just as it was created to be. Forgetting that Apple can announce things from their own auditorium even the same day as WWDC if they wish. Also there are rumors from the parts suppliers but those could be bogus cause the frame could be the same, the internals could be a mix of the same as the 4 and parts used in other things. Or those sources could just be lying.
Folks said that Apple wouldn’t release the Verizon iphone until the 5 but they did. Folks said Apple wouldn’t release the white iphone until the 5, but they did. So clearly we can’t second guess just how crazy Jobs and crew are.
Which just means that they don’t expect to get the iphone 5 at the same time as everyone else.
Or they are believing the rumors that there won’t be a new iphone in 2011.
Please….stop using this iPhone mockup for any random future iPhone story.