Report: Apple Holding Off On iPhone 4G Support

Verizon and AT&T plan to roll out 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks next year, but Apple may not be part of the initial wave of handset makers building 4G devices.

On Monday, Techcrunch contributor Steve Cheney reported that Apple won't support 4G LTE in the iPhone until 2012, and in the meantime will offer a dual mode 3G iPhone that works on CDMA and GSM networks.

According to Cheney, Apple is well aware that the road to 4G LTE may be a bumpy one and plans to wait for the technology to mature before making the transition.

Apple, of course, didn't respond to a request for comment. But for a company that pays so much attention to user experience, it wouldn't be surprising that Apple would want to soft-pedal its 4G LTE support plans, especially at a time when 3G iPhone sales are still booming.

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Michael Oh, founder of Tech Superpowers, a Boston-based Apple reseller, doesn't expect Apple to jump on the 4G bandwagon right away but says a dual mode GSM-CDMA iPhone makes a lot of sense.

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"I think this would be Apple's reaction to competitors' growing market share," Oh said. "They want to make sure they have a wider footprint, especially in the U.S. where they are weakest in terms of carrier options.

Apple reportedly is developing a CDMA version of the iPhone that Verizon will begin selling in January. Verizon, meanwhile, is already banging the 4G LTE drum and last week revealed plans to offer coverage in 38 major U.S. metropolitan areas by year's end. However, the carrier says full nationwide 4G LTE coverage won't come until 2013.

Joe Bardwell, president and chief scientist of Connect802, a wireless solution provider in San Ramon, Calif., says the evolution of 802.11af -- also known as "White Space Wi-Fi" -- along with the acceptance of IPTV offerings from the likes of Apple and Google could shape the marketplace in ways that can only be guessed at today.

"It's clear that ubiquitous 4G coverage will not happen overnight," said Bardwell. "The exact role of 4G wireless, the specifications for 4G capabilities and services and the integration of 4G cellular into the larger wireless data communications environment remain to be ultimately quantified."

4G LTE technology promises wireless broadband speeds of up to five times faster than 3G networks, but the massive infrastructural spending they require will almost certainly mean the end for all-you-can eat data pricing.

Next: Apple Biding Its Time

4G LTE is also certain to be one of the biggest buzzwords of 2011, and Sprint has already spent much of this year billing its HTC Evo as the world's first 4G smartphone. If Apple sticks with 3G for the time being, competing handset makers will no doubt seize on the opportunity to depict their own 4G devices as inherently superior to Apple's 3G iPhones.

Will this sway some customers? Perhaps, but in Bardwell's view, Apple is wise not to get caught up in the breathless march toward "the next best thing" that often defines the mobile space.

"I think it makes sense to focus on widely accepted technology or technology that has reasonably solid expectations for application over a 12 to 18 month period, while taking a wait and see attitude towards technology with a plethora of unanswered questions surrounding it," Bardwell said.