CES 2012: T-Mobile iPhone 5/6 A Possibility?

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While Apple is not attending CES, at least not as an exhibitor, we have seen plenty of Apple-related reports emerge these days concerning the future products we’ll see in stores this year including the iPad 3, the iPhone 5/6 and the Apple TV.

One of those reports comes from CNET, as the publication talked with T-Mobile’s Cheief Technology Officer, Neville Ray, about the carrier’s plans regarding the iPhone. As you already know, T-Mobile is the only one of the Big Four U.S. national mobile operators that it’s not carrying the iPhone. AT&T lost its iPhone exclusivity in early 2011 when Verizon launched the device, while Sprint got the iPhone in last year’s holiday quarter.

While T-Mobile was often rumored to carry the iPhone, that never happened, with one of the major obstacles that blocked the move being the carrier’s unique AWS 3G technology. Over 1 unlocked iPhones are already used by T-Mobile subscribers, but they can’t take advantage of 3G and “4G” speeds as the no iPhone model is compatible with T-Mobile’s 3G network and upwards.

However Ray suggested that this is about to change this year when Apple will use a different chipset, one that’s capable to support AWS. That would mean that at least in theory T-Mobile could carry the iPhone, and Apple will certainly want to expand its reach in the USA by adding as many carrier partners as possible:

“The next chipset will support AWS,” he said in an interview with CNET. “The challenge that existed in the past will go away.”

Ray said Apple has the option to move to AWS with the roadmap of chipsets on the market. The executive has seen the chipsets that are available to all of the original equipment manufacturers. The company later clarified that Ray hasn’t seen Apple’s specific roadmap. But he noted Apple could choose to ignore that capability and not strike a deal with T-Mobile.

However Ray has not seen Apple’s next-gen iPhone, not to mention that the sixth iPhone is rumored to sport LTE support, a feature T-Mobile can’t offer at this time. Although the carrier does offer high-speed HSPA+ connectivity to its current subscribers, which it calls, for marketing reasons, 4G.

Would you move to T-Mobile in case the iPhone 5/6 would be sold by the carrier later this year?