Getting recently brought Verizon towards the iPhone table right after many years of AT&T a slave to alone in the US market, Apple will allow Sprint and T-Mobile as iPhone carriers. The iPhone will end up more ubiquitous in Asia too; China Mobile will be receiving the iPhone this September, while competitors China Telecom and China Unicom have expressed interest in bringing the iPhone to their respective networks.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Included in its escalating smartphone cold war with Google (whose Android operating system holds 36 percent from the smartphone market, compared to the 16.8 percent held by Apple's iOS), Apple continues to be up to a lot lately about the future iPhone front -- by using an eye towards increasing consumers' carrier options. Plans for potential iPhone features reportedly include:
Integrated SIM. Apple has been working on built-in universal SIM capability for some time now. This feature gives users greater ability to choose from a variety of networks; they'd no more have to replace SIM cards whenever they wanted to switch carriers.
Dual Wireless Standard Compatibility. Apple continues to be working on phones that will offer compatibility with both dominant wireless standards -- GSM (used by AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (used by Sprint and many smaller carriers). A dual-mode iPhone would give customers greater option to pick a carrier without getting tied into a contract.
Mini-iPhone. As early as this season, Apple might take a "down market" route, offering a smaller iPhone with less features and slightly older technology. The upside would be that the "mini-iPhone" would cost not nearly as expensive its your government, at about $200 without a service contract. Presently, an apple iphone 4 costs upwards of $549 unlocked, or $200 to $300 having a service contract.
Easy Rate Comparison. Apple holds a patent for software that will send carrier rate information directly to a user's iPhone, allowing users to not only easily make informed choices on data plans (or, if the user prefers, automatically select a carrier along with a arrange for the user), but to become billed through Apple's iTunes store instead of through the carrier. Dubbed "dynamic carrier selection," the patented process provides that participating wireless networks would be pitted against each other inside a bidding system for consumer business.
With all of these features combined, iPhone users could be empowered to simply and affordably hop from carrier to carrier, forcing carriers' increased concentrate on competing for iPhone business.
Apple doesn't need to blow customers away anymore with outrageous features with each iPhone release (the white apple iphone 4 proved that). By concentrating on making iPhones more accessible while liberating customers from the carriers, Apple can certainly maintain -- and overtake -- Google (NASDAQ: GOOG). Furthermore, by seizing charge of the customer relationship from carriers, Apple can increase its margins on existing iPhone customers.
