Verizon’s Chief Financial Officer has confirmed that whenever the next iPhone debuts, it’ll be a true world phone, capable of operating on both CDMA and GSM networks with the same hardware. One handset to rule them all.
Speaking at Reuters’ technology summit today, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said that the new iPhone would use a dual-mode CDMA and GSM chipset. That means that not only will Verizon get the next iPhone at the same time as AT&T, but that any iPhone should work on any network.
As for LTE, Shammo wouldn’t be pinned on whether or not to expect true 4G in the next iPhone, although at this point, no one’s expecting it.
Responding to a question about whether or not Verizon was worried about not having an LTE iPhone this year, Shammo pointed out that Verizon would have several 4G-capable Android handsets available this year, and noted: “It’s a bigger issue for Apple than it is for us.” Ouch.