Skip to main content

Verizon iPhone may cost more, but likely to include unlimited data plan

iPhone on VerizonIn a matter of hours, Verizon is expected to announce that it has landed the iPhone, bringing to an end one of the most hyped stories in the history of smartphones. In between now and then, there remains speculation about just how much the device will cost and what sort of monthly plans Verizon will offer.

Concerning the former question, it looks like Verizon’s iPhone may cost a bit more than AT&T’s model. A report in the blog Apple Insider suggests that the Verizon iPhone will sell for about $20 to $30 more than it has in the past. Why’s that? Well, the CDMA radio components that will power Verizon’s iPhone are more costly than the UMTS chips that run the lineup of AT&T iPhones. Verizon, naturally, will pass along the extra expense to its customers.

Recommended Videos

But if Verizon’s CDMA network can handle the influx of iPhone costumers, it’s likely that gripes about the extra costs will be kept to a minimum. AT&T, after all, was recently  cited by Consumer Reports as the nation’s worst wireless carrier due to poor voice and data coverage. Verizon, on the other hand, was ranked at the top of the U.S. big four wireless carriers.

There’s also questions remaining about what sort of contract terms Verizon will offer as part of its subsidized iPhone deal — data plans specifically. AT&T originally offered the iPhone with an unlimited data plan, but has since chosen to offer only capped data plans. A Wall Street Journal report suggests that Verizon will offer its existing unlimited data plan to new iPhone customers — a move that could attract more than a few data-hungry existing AT&T customers. However, if Verizon’s iPhone is a big a hit as it’s expected to be, it may not be able to afford to let users enjoy an “all you can eat buffet” approach to data beyond a year or two from now.

Both of these questions could be addressed tomorrow, but the bigger questions about the impact of the Verizon iPhone are likely to remain unanswered for awhile. Specifically, how many users will AT&T lose to Verizon and how Verizon’s infrastructure will perform under the increased burden brought on by potentially millions of new customers.

Aemon Malone
Former Digital Trends Contributor
iPhone 17 Air: everything you need to know
Alleged concept render of the iPhone 17 Air in black.

The iPhone 17 Air is set to become the first iPhone that's as light as a feather -- or light as air, as its name suggests. Not because it's as tiny as the oldest iPhone models, but rather it's because it's as thin as the MacBook Air that inspired it and thinner than the rest of the iPhone 17 line.

Although the iPhone 17 Air is months away from being officially announced by Apple, let alone the standard iPhone 17, the leaks and rumors swirling around the ultra-slim model have iPhone users excited about the prospect of holding it in their hands and anxious about its fragility because of its thinness. Here's everything you need to know about the iPhone 17 Air.

Read more
The iPhone 18 Pro could see a major design change
A person holding the Apple iPhone 16e showing the screen.

If the iPhone 18 release schedule wasn't enough of a shift, it looks like the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models could switch to under-screen Face ID and have only a small camera in the top-left corner of the screen. The news comes from Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a leaker with an inside hook into Apple's supply chain.

"Well, I checked with the Apple supply chain a few days ago. The iPhone 18/18 Pro Max is indeed testing 3D faces under the screen, with a single HIAA hole; the iPhone 8/18 Air is a regular 2+1 hole," they write (as translated by Google.)

Read more
The iPhone 17 Air might not stack up in terms of battery life
Alleged concept render of the iPhone 17 Air in black.

Concerns over iPhone 17 Air battery life might have been spot-on, according to a new report from The Information. Apple allegedly conducted internal tests that showed only 60 to 70 percent of iPhone 17 Air devices would make it through the day without needing a recharge, versus between 80 to 90 percent for other iPhone models.

Of course, part of that is due to the design of the handset. At just 5.5mm, the iPhone 17 Air is set to be the thinnest iPhone ever (and one of the thinnest phones on the market overall), but it might come at the cost of battery capacity. To help offset this problem, Apple is supposedly planning to launch an optional battery case accessory to give users a little bit more juice to get them through the day.

Read more