For a while, it has been rumored that the iPhone 5 would be able to grant you three wishes support both GSM and CDMA style networks. It’s still being rumored, but now TechCrunch has found some evidence to back it up. An unnamed informant, an iOS developer, turned over some documents that show that developers have been working on apps for a single device, but that still support both GSM and CDMA. It’s not hard to figure out what that implies.
Now, ever since the iPhone 4, the iPhone has been able to handle both networks, technically. The catch was that there were two distinctly different models. You could have an iPhone on Verizon or AT&T, but the same physical device lacked the ability to migrate from one network to the other. This, however, seems like it will be a limitation of the past.
While it’s not exactly common for a consumer to be switching networks willy-nilly, there are some cases in which the function comes in handy. For instance, this ability will essentially allow the iPhone 5 to be a global phone. Due to the way cellphone networks are run around the world (spoiler: It’s not the same way everywhere), it tends to be difficult to get by with a phone that exclusively supports one network. The ability to switch effortlessly between is a big step in making the iPhone attractive for globe trotters.
This move could also affect the companies that provide iPhone guts. At the moment, Qualcomm provides innards for the CDMA version of the iPhone 4, while Intel owned Infineon provides for the original GSM model. When the two models come together, someone is going to get left behind and word on the street is that it is going to be Intel.
When all is said and done, the new combined model may force Apple to hunker down and make some definitive decision about the hardware of the iPhone instead of playing around with 2 different versions, but a new, unified model will make life simpler for consumers everywhere, specifically consumers who like to be everywhere.
(via TechCrunch)
