Sprint to Join AT&T and Verizon in Offering iPhone 5 at 'Mid-October' Launch

sprint logo
The Wall Street Journal reports that Sprint will offer the iPhone 5 when it launches later this year, becoming the third U.S. carrier to offer the iPhone. According to the report, the iPhone 5 will launch simultaneously on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T in "mid-October".

Sprint Nextel Corp. will begin selling the iPhone 5 in mid-October, people familiar with the matter said, closing a huge hole in the No. 3 U.S. carrier's lineup and giving Apple Inc. another channel for selling its popular phone.

The timing, however, indicates Apple's new iPhone will hit the market later than expected and too late to contribute to sales in the company's fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in September. Most observers had expected the device to arrive next month.

The iPhone 5 will debut on AT&T and Verizon at the same time, and Sprint is said to also be gaining the iPhone 4.

AT&T was the exclusive iPhone carrier in the United States until earlier this year, when Apple released a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 for Verizon. Sprint also operates a CDMA network.

The iPhone on Sprint has been a popular topic for rumor and speculation, especially since Verizon landed the iPhone earlier this year. Several analysts had claimed that the iPhone would be coming to Sprint by the end of this year, and an Apple job posting located near Sprint's Kansas headquarters back in May further fueled speculation that Apple was working with the carrier to launch the iPhone.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.0.1 With Touch Screen Bug Fix and More

Thursday October 3, 2024 2:22 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, the...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 With Bug Fixes

Thursday October 3, 2024 2:27 pm PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.0.1, the first update for the macOS Sequoia operating system. The 15.0.1 update comes a week after Apple first released macOS Sequoia 15. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. According to Apple's release notes, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 fixes a bug that could cause the Messages app...
maxresdefault

Two Weeks With the iPhone 16 Pro Max

Friday October 4, 2024 12:04 pm PDT by
Now that it's been two weeks since the iPhone 16 models were released, we've been able to spend enough time with the new devices to share a more in-depth review on their performance, battery life, feature set, and more. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've been testing the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, but the gap between the Pro models and the standard iPhone 16...
Prime Big Deal Days Hero 3

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Friday October 4, 2024 10:43 am PDT by
Amazon is hosting another Prime Day event this year, called Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and offering shoppers the first chance to save on holiday shopping from a major retailer. Similar to the first Prime Day, it will last for two days (October 8-9) and you can already find a large selection of early deals across Amazon's storefront, covering savings on tech, clothing, video games, groceries, and...
top stories 5oct2024

Top Stories: iOS 18.1 Coming Soon, October Apple Event Rumors, and More

Saturday October 5, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
It's hard to believe we're already into October with the iPhone 16 launch behind us, but there's lots more still to come from Apple this year on both the hardware and software fronts. We're still expecting a number of Mac and perhaps some iPad updates in the very near future, while Apple Intelligence features are set to begin rolling out with iOS 18.1 and related operating system updates....
15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.1

Friday September 27, 2024 6:14 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.1 in October, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks a significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a couple of handy new...
ipad mini 2021 youtube

New Report Reveals When to Expect the iPad Mini 7

Tuesday October 1, 2024 2:09 pm PDT by
Apple is working on a new iPad mini that will "potentially" be released "by the end of 2024," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Last month, Gurman reported that Apple had "new iPads in the works," including an upgraded version of the iPad mini. At the time, he said the device was "on deck for Apple's October event" alongside the first M4 Macs. The wording in his...
M4 Real Feature Red

Gurman: Apple to Launch New M4 Macs and iPad Mini 7 on November 1

Sunday October 6, 2024 6:40 am PDT by
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...

Top Rated Comments

TDPHunter Avatar
171 months ago
Best Rate

Sprint has the best unlimited plan too... I wouldn't mind switching to them for that.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HarryKeogh Avatar
171 months ago
Sprint has the best unlimited plan too... I wouldn't mind switching to them for that.

If they get the iPhone I would expect that to change.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alent1234 Avatar
171 months ago
Can't wait to hear what those Sprint sales people say about the iPhone now. Went in there a few times with my girlfriend and those slimeballs tried to tell me that multiple smart phones from Sprint were better. Their lack of intelligence is why they work there, but still. They are total idiots. I'd never switch to Sprint for anything. This is a last ditch effort for them, they lose money each quarter.


i agree. they should have told you to go buy a cell phone somewhere else
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thetexan Avatar
171 months ago
Can't wait to hear what those Sprint sales people say about the iPhone now. Went in there a few times with my girlfriend and those slimeballs tried to tell me that multiple smart phones from Sprint were better. Their lack of intelligence is why they work there, but still. They are total idiots. I'd never switch to Sprint for anything. This is a last ditch effort for them, they lose money each quarter.

I walked into a Kia dealership and can you believe those slimeballs tried to convince me a Kia was better than other car brands on the market? The Kia salespeople are idiots not realizing that a Kia is a turd compared to say the BMW.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
171 months ago
Makes sense since exclusivity is broken. I doubt we'll see a T-mobile launch ever unless the merger falls through.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
belsokar Avatar
171 months ago
Can't wait to hear what those Sprint sales people say about the iPhone now. Went in there a few times with my girlfriend and those slimeballs tried to tell me that multiple smart phones from Sprint were better. Their lack of intelligence is why they work there, but still. They are total idiots. I'd never switch to Sprint for anything. This is a last ditch effort for them, they lose money each quarter.

While I don't like flat out lying, Sprint is a company trying to make a profit like any other company...Just imagine your livelihood depended on you selling sprint phones...whether or not your store profited means whether or not you pay the mortgage, feed the kids, etc....and just imagine that you knew the best phone (in this case the iPhone) wasn't in your store...when a customer comes in, are you going to tell them "iPhone is your best bet, don't buy one of our phones? Have a nice day!"...not very likely...Your goal is to sell products. Whether you're buying a car, a phone, a tv, or whatever, salespeople will tell you whatever possible to get the sale...it's unfortunate, but just as unfortunate is how many people make large purchases without ever really doing their research...

Now I personally hate the sleazy nature of sales...I have it on EXCELLENT authority that when the iPhone first hit Verizon, salespeople lied about iPhone stock (telling customers iPhones weren't in stock), and steered them towards Android devices because they got better commissions on those phones...

I have also been in stores where a salesperson will try to talk about why iPhones suck...or Apple sucks...etc...Personally, I think you're better off selling the strengths of your own devices, and trying to convince customers your device can do everything just as well as the iPhone...but that's just my personal take...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)