Rumor: No 4G for Apple in 2011

Are we tired of all the rumors around a 4G Verizon iPhone yet? First it's off, then it's on, and now it's off again. TechCrunch's Steve Cheney claims he's heard from sources that Apple won't support the 4G/LTE cell network in 2011, which means that we won't see a 4G iPhone next year. Cheney claims Apple is going to wait on the standard, and instead implement a dual-mode GSM and CDMA iPhone sometime in 2011.

That still leaves the possibility of other carriers open, though, and it does corroborate what we've heard from the Wall Street Journal, which said a while back that Apple would bring a CDMA-enabled iPhone out on Verizon's network. Honestly, at this point, it's all just a blur -- we've heard rumors for almost years now that Apple would release an iPhone on one technology or another, and to date, there are no (non-jailbroken) iPhones in the US that run on anything but AT&T's 3G network.

As with all of this stuff, nothing is legit until we see Steve actually holding it up there on stage.

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Source: http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/11/apples-iphone-4g-2011/

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Are we tired of all the rumors around a 4G Verizon iPhone yet? First it's off, then it's on, and now it's off again. TechCrunch's Steve...

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Steven Fowler

I know Apple may like to be ahead of the curve, but they always wait until a new technology proves itself before they make a commitment. If they waited until 2008 to release a 3G iPhone, don't expect a 4G model for another few years.

October 12 2010 at 1:17 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to Steven Fowler's comment

clintaustin26

Yeah I agree. The original iPhone was 2G only even though 3G was pretty much the standard at that point. If they release the CDMA iPhone in January, the earliest you'll see a 4G iPhone will be June/July on AT&T, and probably not on VZ till 2012.

October 12 2010 at 1:41 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

mikehild

I recall Steve addressing this at the keynote when the iPhone was first unveiled. Of course it could have just been an excuse, but he stated that at the time 3G used too much power and would have drained battery life too much so they stuck with Edge.

October 12 2010 at 2:47 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

niteice

I won't rest until I get an iPhone on D-AMPS

October 12 2010 at 1:11 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Pete

This statement, "Cheney claims Apple is going to wait on the standard. . ." is just silly. Since when has Apple waited for standards?? And even more importantly, LTE is going to be THE standard as the 2 biggest providers are gonna use it. What are the options? Sprint's 4G tech? Nope. T-Mobile's HSPA+ which isn't even true 4G? Not hardly.

I just find it VERY hard to believe that Apple is gonna release an iPhone CDMA version on Verizon's network with Verizon releasing LTE phones (mostly likely Android LTE phones) in the early part of 2011. I don't think Jobs would release an iPhone on a dying tech base if you held a gun to his head. It's just not his way of doing things.

I could be wrong, and I don't know exactly what all those CDMA chips that Apple supposedly bought are for, but I'll believe a Verizon CDMA iPhone a week after it happens.

October 12 2010 at 12:24 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Joe

I guess he didn't actually hold a white iphone on stage.

October 11 2010 at 8:42 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

rudy

apple is slow on adopting new technologies so i'm not surprised

October 11 2010 at 8:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

David Robison

Anyone know when AT&T is supposed to have their 4G network live? (I know, I know, get 3G right first...but still.)

October 11 2010 at 7:19 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply