Sprint to Launch iPhone Through Prepaid Brand Virgin Mobile in Coming Weeks

virgina mobile usa logoMarketWatch reports that Sprint will announce later this week that it will begin offering the iPhone on a prepaid basis through its Virgin Mobile brand. The announcement will come just days after Leap Wireless announced that it would begin offering the iPhone on a prepaid basis through its Cricket brand beginning June 22.

The Overland Park, Kan., carrier will announce this week it will offer the popular smartphone on its Virgin Mobile pay-as-you-go brand starting as soon as July 1, according to people familiar with the company's plans. Sprint follows Leap Wireless International Inc. in selling the device with prepaid service.

By offering the iPhone, Sprint may help satisfy its commitment to Apple to buy $15.5 billion of the phones over four years, an aggressive bet as more carriers are getting access to the once-exclusive device. Sprint's prepaid service, which also includes the Boost Mobile brand, has been its lone area of growth as contract customers have fled.

Virgin Mobile's pricing for the iPhone remains unknown, and it is also unclear whether Sprint's Boost Mobile brand will also gain access to the device. Boost had been rumored last week to be adding the iPhone in September.

Virgin Mobile's existing smartphone plans begin at $35 per month with unlimited data (throttled after 2.5 GB), although the report notes that it is unknown whether the iPhone would be eligible for the carrier's cheapest plans.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

Ryth Avatar
154 months ago
Wonder if they'll get the iPhone 5....anyway this is good for everyone. More PayGo options we get, the cheaper these other plans will come down.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ryth Avatar
154 months ago
Do Americans need everything done for them by the carriers?

You get a PAYG Virgin Mobile SIM-Card.

You buy an iPhone

You put the PAYG Virgin Mobile SIM-card in the iPhone.

It just works.
And you also pay full price for the phone. This won't be full price but $150 cheaper.

You can do that on TMobile right now because its GSM and uses a SIM Card. The issue is you are on the Edge network and don't get 3G speeds even.

Also isnt Virgin Mobile USA on a CDMA network, similar to Verizon and Sprint? The unlocked iPhone 4S can only be used on other GSM networks like T-Mobile.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tiger8 Avatar
154 months ago
I think this is horrible news. The iPhone has been viewed in the top tiers of phones since its introduction. If you go to a carrier such as Virgin, you are dumbing it down. It will tarnish the view and reputation of iPhone and iOS. Steve would have never allowed this. The majority of people that use Virgin usually have a lower socioeconomic status, or are teenagers. This is where iPhone will become Android. Bad.

Of course! and from your signature, I see that you are from the higher socioeconomic status, good for you man! isn't it wonderful being you?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ryth Avatar
154 months ago
$35 / month sounds really sweet.
I'm guessing we're going to have to buy the phone up front though so not sure if I'll jump.
What is bad about buying the phone up front when you save a ton over two years compared to everyone other plans.

I'd love a $35 option but I guess is it will be around $40 or $50 for the plan. In reality, that is all I need if even that. Im near Wifi 90% of the time and barely even talk via voice anymore since most conversations for hooking up with people and meeting them come via either email, or chat/texting.

----------

With the iPhone coming to all these pre-paid and regional carriers, I wonder if this is Apple's response to Android and its dominant market share...? :confused: Just theorizing.
It should be. The iPhone should be on every carrier. It should be up to the buyer to choose his plan/carrier. The majority of carriers are r-ping everyone.

On average you are looking at $2K over 2 years with Sprint/AT&T/Verizon. If you have the unlimited plan its almost $3.2K. That's fricking ABSURD.

I want a paygo option. I shouldn't have to pay for more if I don't use, need it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
goosnarrggh Avatar
154 months ago
And people went nuts when that happened. I remember quotes like "have you seen the type of people that go to Wal Mart?"

There's an odd dichotomy among people who like Apple.

Many people genuinely prefer Apple because they have rationally observed that many of Apple's products are better engineered, and offer a better user experience overall, than the competition. That's enough evidence for them to reach the conclusion that they should give preference to Apple over other manufacturers as they evaluate their purchasing decisions.

But then there are others. People who seem to use their ownership of Apple products as a status symbol. They want to turn their noses up at everybody else who has the lack or worthiness or poor taste to be using any non-Apple product. The notion that their exclusive Apple products might gain a wider user base through more accessible pricing really seems to come as a threat to their egos.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
154 months ago
I think this is horrible news. The iPhone has been viewed in the top tiers of phones since its introduction. If you go to a carrier such as Virgin, you are dumbing it down. It will tarnish the view and reputation of iPhone and iOS. Steve would have never allowed this. The majority of people that use Virgin usually have a lower socioeconomic status, or are teenagers. This is where iPhone will become Android. Bad.

It won't tarnish anything. Apple won't allow features to be removed regardless of what carrier the phone is at.

If anything, this gives users more options for a carrier. People forever complained that the iPhone was only on AT&T, and now that it's showing up on lots of carriers, folks are complaining that it's on too many carriers now?

Ya'll are never satisfied, are you? Or is this just a troll post? :)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...