Gadgetopia

Apple may be forced into Verizon iPhone within two years: Looks like the AT&T-only strategy isn’t going to pan out for Apple. Future growth in the mobile market will be slow, and they’re already saturating AT&T — all their customers that want an iPhone have likely bought one, which means Apple needs to expand the pool of potential customers.

The hard ceiling on expansion, in turn, means Apple can’t afford to leave money on the table by artificially limiting who can buy an iPhone in the US. Instead of selling to just a fraction of AT&T’s 78.2 million customers, Apple is predicted to have access to as many as 150 million customers across Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile if it chooses not to renew its exclusivity contract. Estimates have Apple’s likely actual customer base nearly doubling from 17 million to 30 million users. The Cupertino company would have to accept a hit to its jealously-protected high profit margins but could well generate more revenue in addition to expanding its market share.