AT&T & Verizon iPhone 5 / iPhone 4S Release Dates to Coincide?

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More iPhone 5 / iPhone 4S talk comes today courtesy of Verizon as the carrier seems ready to spill some beans regarding its future iPhone plans. The most important thing is that both Verizon and AT&T will launch the iPhone simultaneously in the USA, and we can’t help but wonder whether a Sprint and/or T-Mobile iPhone will be released at the same time.

Verizon hasn’t specified an exact launch window yet, so we’re still expecting Apple to release the next iPhone at some point after being made official in September. But through its Chief Financial Office Fran Shammo, Verizon did confirm that its next-gen iPhone would come with world-mode capabilities:

While Verizon has sold fewer iPhones than some analysts expected, Shammo said he was happy with sales of the “six-month-old phone” that only works in some countries.

When the next iPhone model launches Verizon will be able to offer it at the same time as AT&T. Verizon’s version will also work in as many countries as AT&T’s iPhone, which has global coverage, Shammo said.

As for that LTE support, which we aren’t expecting anyway, Shammo confirmed with Reuters that’s not happening, at least not this year:

Shammo said that even if the next iPhone does not support LTE, Verizon will have enough high-speed alternatives to sell.

“I think it’s a bigger issue for Apple than it is for us,” he said. “Depending on where Apple plays, that’s where we’ll sell.”

Of course the equally important announcement Apple made today was related to its unlimited data plans, which are going to become history come this summer. We can’t say we didn’t expect this move, and considering the strain the increasing number of smartphones can put on a carrier’s network, we do see some reasoning behind the move. Although, as data-hungry consumers, we’ll never agree with carriers’ decisions, especially when it comes to tiered data plans.