Was just casually enjoying the latest episode of Drew, Nick and Randy’s madness on the way to work yesterday. Chucking behind my steering wheel. Sometimes a literal LOL escapes.
When they brought up an interesting topic…
What if Apple became a carrier? What if they removed the SIM tray, went eSIM-only, piggy-backed off all the worldwide cellular providers? All for one, low, iPhone-exclusive monthly rate?
Imagine just how much vertically-integrated the iPhone purchasing process would be. It would make sense, at that point, for you to purchase your new phone directly from Apple without needing to select a specific carrier.
There is the gray area of anti-trust to consider, but would it be considered “anti-trust” if you’re using all worldwide carriers and their infrastructure? It would be similar to what Mint Mobile and Visible in the US of A. However, in this scenario, it would be on a possibly global scale.
Plus, this would be an iPhone-exclusive offer. Definitely isn’t too “anti-trust” when the majority of the cellular market is still Android. You know, the platform created and, somewhat still owned in a complex way, by Google.
On the other hand, if you offer an “iPlan” with unlimited data for $25/month, that would probably intrigue you a bit. Probably enough to leave your carrier and simply throw your money directly at Apple. Where Apple simply pays a cut to your old carrier for infrastructure use, service use and other possible fees.
Instead of you giving your money directly to your carrier, allowing them to get a bigger piece of the pie.
Wonder if this idea has ever been contemplated by Tim Cook. Just makes sense, right? This is a way to make your best-selling product much easier to use and understand. Why would you say “no”?
Guess we’ll wait and see. Maybe this might a “one more thing” announcement at a future Apple event.
