Apple iPhone No Longer Verizon's Bestselling Smartphone? [Update]

141852 Verizon logo 300
Fortune reports that Apple's iPhone has dropped from the top selling smartphone position in Verizon retail stores for the first time since the carrier started selling the device. The news comes by way of a research note from William Blair's Anil Doradla.

Doradla attributes the iPhone's fall from grace less to the usual slowdown in advance of a new model than to Verizon's aggressive marketing of competing 4G devices, particularly Motorola's Droid RAZR MAXX, which the carrier is selling for $299 with a 2-year contract.

The results are based on "channel checks" from the April-May-June quarter of 2012. The iPhone was reportedly dethroned by the Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX, but remains in the number two spot ahead of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Verizon first started carrying the iPhone in February 2011. Verizon benefited from pent up demand at launch and the subsequent launch of the iPhone 4S in October of that same year. The iPhone 4S is now 8 months since it's release with rumors that the next generation iPhone will launch this fall.

Update: A separate analyst claims that the iPhone 4S remains the top selling smarpthone at Verizon.

But that's not the case, according to Walkley, who said while the latest Razr is "gaining ground," it "hasn't caught iPhone." His own research has found the iPhone 4S as the top selling smartphone at Verizon, as well as AT&T and Sprint, for the entirety of 2012 thus far.

Popular Stories

Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Wednesday November 19, 2025 4:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
ipad black friday 2025

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:20 am PST by
Black Friday is just over a week away, and iPad deals have finally started to flood in at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Below we're tracking discounts on every current generation iPad, including lowest-ever prices on M3 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro, plus steep markdowns on iPad and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a ...
ipad mini 7 feature red and blue

iPad Mini 8: Four Major New Features to Expect

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:50 am PST by
Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is highly likely to arrive next year, offering a significant refresh of the device with at least four major new features. OLED Display The next-generation version of the iPad mini could feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple Watch in 2015, ...
watchos 26 workout app

Apple Watch Users Claim Workout App Is Now Worse in Every Way

Thursday November 20, 2025 7:01 am PST by
Apple Watch owners have been voicing their frustration online over changes to the Workout app that Apple introduced in watchOS 26, with many finding the redesigned interface makes starting exercises difficult and exasperating. When Apple launched watchOS 26 in September, the Workout app went from large, easily tapped workout tiles to a scrolling, corner-button interface. Instead of tapping a ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Two More U.S. States Commit to Offering iPhone Driver's Licenses in Apple Wallet App

Thursday November 20, 2025 8:21 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Earlier this week, Illinois became the 13th state in the U.S. to offer the feature. Subsequently, we shared a list of additional states that are committed...
android iphone airdrop quickshare

iPhone Users Can Now AirDrop Files to Android Devices

Thursday November 20, 2025 9:47 am PST by
Google today announced a new cross-platform feature that allows for file sharing between iPhone and Android users. With AirDrop on the iPhone and QuickShare on Pixel 10 devices, there is a new file transfer function available. The file sharing option works on Apple devices that include iPhone, iPad, and Mac, along with the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Fold....

Top Rated Comments

Roessnakhan Avatar
175 months ago
With the Droid RAZR MAXX both having LTE and amazing battery life, that's no surprise.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Val-kyrie Avatar
175 months ago
Not Surprising

Our local Verizon store didn't even mention the iPhone when I went into the store to sign up for a plan; in fact, I had to ask them about the iPhone because they were only pushing Droids.

[Edit: There wasn't even an iPhone on display in the store.]
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SprodeBoy Avatar
175 months ago
I see this as good news. Sure I prefer Apple over everything else in the terms of smartphones but competition is always good and will keep Apple on its feet trying to make the next great thing.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MACdaddy859 Avatar
175 months ago
Perhaps if Apple updated their extremely outdated phone every once in a while...

Go ahead and give me a thumbs down, it's true. Apple is seriously dragging their feet with the iPhone. The 4S was an abomination. I mean come on, im using an iPhone 4 that i purchased in June 2010 the day it came out. I have it jailbroken and running siri, there's no real difference between my 2 year old phone and apple's most up to date phone. It's pathetic, and no i don't consider a bump in processor speed to be a major update. In addition to that, the screen IS too damn small whether you want to admit it or not. If the new iphone isn't significantly improved and changed, im going android. And this is coming from an apple fanboy.

I agree with you man. Thumbs up
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scotty321 Avatar
175 months ago
1. Um, Verizon salespeople are TRAINED to NOT LET ANY CUSTOMERS WALK OUT THE DOOR WITH an iPhone. Have any of you actually tried to walk into a Verizon store and purchase an iPhone? It is IMPOSSIBLE. I've tried it on 8 occasions, and Fortune Magazine documents this as well. It is IMPOSSIBLE to do so. Go ahead... I DARE YOU to walk into a Verizon store and try to purchase an iPhone.
2. Furthermore, Verizon salespeople make $75 commission on every NON-iPhone that they sell, but they only make a $5 commission on every iPhone they sell.
3. Verizon salespeople are BERATED by their managers and given WARNINGS if they sell an iPhone.

So it makes perfect sense that the iPhone isn't their best-selling device. This has been Verizon's plan all along.

WHY?

Because once people love the iPhone, they are loyal to the phone and not the carrier. The iPhone relegates Verizon to the dumb pipe that they are, and they don't like that one bit.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
carbonrain Avatar
175 months ago
"The news comes by way of a research note from William Blair's Anil Doradla."

Anil Doradla... ...is an anagram for All Android... something's fishy...
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)