U.S. Cellular to Begin Offering Apple Products Later This Year

As part of its quarterly earnings release today, U.S. Cellular announced that it will begin carrying Apple products later this year, although the carrier offered no additional details on its plans.

"We have a number of strategies in progress to increase loyalty and attract more customers, including our announcement today that we will begin offering Apple products later this year. By further strengthening our device portfolio, we'll give consumers another great reason to switch to U.S. Cellular, and enable our existing customers to choose from an even wider variety of iconic smartphones, and enjoy the outstanding U.S. Cellular customer experiences they deserve. Our smartphone penetration is currently 43 percent of core market customers and growing quickly. We believe there will be strong, ongoing demand for smartphones and data products and services from our customers, and we have significant room for growth in this area.

The move marks a reversal for U.S. Cellular, which said in late 2011 that it had declined to carry the iPhone due to "unacceptable" terms being offered by Apple.

Carriers offering the iPhone generally see short-term hits to their profitability due to upfront subsidies that are typical in the U.S. wireless industry, although many carriers have viewed that impact as acceptable in order to gain access to the popular device. Apple has also routinely demanded that carriers commit to purchasing certain numbers of iPhones over a period of years, something that some carriers have been reluctant to do for fear of being stuck with unsold devices.

us_cellular_logo
U.S. Cellular, which has 5.7 million subscribers, may become the last of the top U.S. carriers to offer the iPhone. Major carriers Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile all now offer the device, while Leap Wireless/Cricket began selling the iPhone last year. MetroPCS is also likely to begin offering the iPhone following its merger with T-Mobile, although an offering is said to not be imminent. The last of the top carriers, TracFone, also offers the iPhone through its Straight Talk partnership with Walmart.

Update 9:37 AM: U.S. Cellular has issued an additional statement to AllThingsD:

We will be selling iPhone products later this year. We don’t have any additional information at this time but will follow up closer to the launch. The deal we’ve made to sell iPhone products is right for our business today, because we now have an LTE solution that enables a successful partnership with Apple.

Update 10:27 AM: Dow Jones Newswires reports that U.S. Cellular has committed to purchase $1.2 billion worth of iPhones over a three-year period.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

snebes Avatar
129 months ago
"Top" US carriers. US Cellular? The same US Cellular that left Chicago despite having stadium rights there?

Was about the say the same thing. I'm not even a USCC customer and I am appalled by their actions here. Selling their customers to Sprint, and forcing everyone to get a new phone (due to incompatibility, even though both are CDMA). Talk about a company giving the middle finger to its partner stores, customers, and customer choice in the midwest.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farmermac Avatar
129 months ago
I left US Cellular in 2009 for the iPhone. They are the best carrier in Iowa hands down, as far as coverage goes. Their plans used to not have free roaming though, so we'll see. I can predict we'll be switching back to US cellular and ditching AT&T when they get these.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Four oF NINE Avatar
129 months ago
This could be a huge advantage for Apple now!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mazeman Avatar
129 months ago
My wife has US Cellular, and in our travels it has consistently had much better coverage than AT&T or Verizon.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
truettray Avatar
129 months ago
This is huge for the mid-west. I don't personally use US Cellular, but my office does! This could be good for us.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mac-savant Avatar
129 months ago
You know, I seem to recall hearing a US Cellular radio commercial that said that anyone that wanted an iPhone was stupid.

That must be their target market now.

Anyone know where we can find a transcript or recording of that commercial?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Gurman: iOS 17 to Provide Several 'Most Requested Features'

Sunday March 26, 2023 6:05 am PDT by
Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:06 am PDT by
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Some Apple Employees Seriously Concerned About Mixed-Reality Headset as Announcement Draws Closer

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:25 am PDT by
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
Steve Jobs Theater dusk

Apple Reportedly Demoed Mixed-Reality Headset to Executives in the Steve Jobs Theater Last Week

Sunday March 26, 2023 5:53 am PDT by
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
top stories 25mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Design Leak, iOS 16.4 Coming Soon, and More

Saturday March 25, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Hero0009

Best Apple Deals of the Week: Samsung's Smart Monitor M8 Gets Massive $250 Discount, Along With Year's Best AirPods Prices

Friday March 24, 2023 10:23 am PDT by
We saw a lot of great deals on Apple products and related accessories this week, including Samsung's iMac-like Smart Monitor M8 for $250 off, a 30 percent off spring sale at Anker, and the year's best prices on numerous AirPods models. All of these deals are still available to purchase right now, so we're recapping them and more below. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these ...
dynamic island

iPhone 15 Dynamic Island to Include New Integrated Proximity Sensor

Friday March 24, 2023 12:27 am PDT by
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models. According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...