CDMA iPhone 4 Sales Below Apple's Expectations?

140418 cdma iphone 4

In an article about Pegatron's net losses for the first quarter of 2011, DigiTimes reveals that the iPhone 4 manufacturer is said to be lowering their production of CDMA (Verizon-compatible) iPhone 4s in 2011 from the originally expected 10 million units down to only 5 million units.

Meanwhile, Pegatron originally expected to ship 10 million CDMA iPhone 4s in 2011, but sources from upstream component makers pointed out that Apple's orders already saw a significant reduction and the volume is estimated to drop to only five million units.

CDMA refers to the radio technology used by Verizon for their mobile phones. The CDMA iPhone (aka Verizon iPhone) was launched in February of this year and saw 2.2 million activations in the partial first quarter of its launch. Despite the years of speculation about a Verizon-compatible iPhone, its reception may have been ultimately tempered by the late introduction in the iPhone 4's lifecycle as well as many customers still being locked into existing contracts.

Apple is widely expected to introduce a new iPhone later this year. That new iPhone will likely be a global device, incorporating both CDMA and GSM technologies into a single design.

Popular Stories

iPhone Air

Report: 'Virtually No Demand' for iPhone Air

Wednesday October 22, 2025 3:22 am PDT by
Apple is "drastically" cutting production of the iPhone Air and shifting focus toward the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro models, Nikkei Asia reports. The business publication claims to have learned of a major cut to iPhone Air production motivated by weaker-than-expected consumer interest, nearly to "end of production levels." Despite early reports of the iPhone Air selling out within hours of...
sam sung auction

Former Apple Employee Sam Sung Changed His Name to Avoid Attention

Wednesday October 22, 2025 4:44 pm PDT by
Back in 2012, an Apple retail employee named Sam Sung went viral because his name is similar to Samsung, one of Apple's main competitors. In a recent interview with Business Insider, he detailed that period in his life, how Apple responded, and he explained why he ultimately changed his name. Someone posted an image of Sung's Apple business card on Reddit in 2012, and it spread rapidly....
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:15 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. iOS 26.1 is currently in beta testing. The update will likely be released in the first half of November, and it is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer, but some...
iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iOS 26.1 Beta Liquid Glass Battery Drain Test: Tinted vs Clear Mode

Friday October 24, 2025 2:30 pm PDT by
In the fourth iOS 26.1 beta, Apple added a "Tinted" option that reduces the translucency of Liquid Glass for those who prefer a more opaque look. I saw some comments wondering whether the setting might preserve battery life, so I thought I'd do some testing. Test Settings I did four separate tests using the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I kept the parameters as similar as possible. Here are the...
cadillac lyric infotainment

GM to Remove CarPlay from All Future Vehicles, Including Gas Cars [Updated]

Wednesday October 22, 2025 11:34 am PDT by
General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down. In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Apple's Plan to Launch Three New iPhone Designs Allegedly Revealed

Wednesday October 22, 2025 6:24 am PDT by
Apple plans to launch a new type of iPhone every year for the foreseeable future, according to an Asia-based source. The detailed information was shared by the account "yeux1122" in a blog post on the Korean platform Naver, citing domestic trend and component research companies. Corroborating other reports, Apple will apparently launch its first foldable iPhone in 2026, featuring a...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Report: Apple to Skip 'iPhone 19' Name for 'iPhone 20'

Thursday October 23, 2025 4:28 am PDT by
Apple's new iPhone lineup launched in the fall of 2027 will be called the "iPhone 20" models, rather than the "iPhone 19," according to research firm Omdia. Speaking at a conference in Seoul (via ETNews), Omdia Chief Researcher Heo Moo-yeol corroborated rumors that Apple plans to move the launch of its standard iPhone to the first half of the year and provided some additional clarity about...
maxresdefault

Apple's iPhone Air Experiment Fails as Supply Chain Cuts Production by 80%

Wednesday October 22, 2025 10:48 am PDT by
iPhone Air demand failed to meet Apple's expectations and the company's supply chain is scaling back shipments and production, reports Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Suppliers are expected to reduce capacity by more than 80 percent between now and the first quarter of 2026, and some components with longer lead times will be discontinued ...
trump white house ballroom

Apple Donating to Trump's $350M White House Ballroom Project

Thursday October 23, 2025 3:55 pm PDT by
Apple is one of several tech companies that will contribute to the construction of U.S. President Donald Trump's 90,000-square-foot ballroom, reports CNN. Construction began on the ballroom this week, and the White House's east wing was torn down. Trump claims that the ballroom will cost $350 million, and that it will be privately funded through donations. The cost has already increased $150 ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's License Feature in Apple Wallet App Launches in Another U.S. State

Thursday October 23, 2025 7:44 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting today, the feature is available to residents of West Virginia. To set it up, open the Wallet app and tap on the plus sign in...

Top Rated Comments

aiqw9182 Avatar
189 months ago
No surprises here, the majority of people are waiting for the next iPhone.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Popeye206 Avatar
189 months ago
I was really excited about the Verizon iPhone because I absolutely hate AT&T. I had Verizon for 7 years, and never dropped a single call. But I switched to AT&T when the iPhone 3GS came out, and now I drop the call on about 90% of the calls I make (no joke).

When the Verizon iPhone was announced, I was planning to decide whether to pay the ETF to AT&T and switch immediately, or wait until June when my contract was up. When I saw that the Verizon iPhone was just the iPhone 4 with a new wireless chip, it made my decision to wait a little easier.

That was Apple's first attempt at stretching the life of the iPhone 4, and apparently, people didn't bite (since CDMA phone sales didn't meet expectations). Now, they are making their second stab at extending the life of the iPhone 4 by finally releasing the white models. The problem is that they are trying to get longevity out of a design that was heavily flawed to begin with. Not only does the death grip reduce signal strength, but Apple is stubbornly refusing to integrate LTE.

I will not make the switch back to Verizon until Apple releases an iPhone with a 4G chip in it AND completely re-designs the antenna so that I can hold the phone any way I damn well please and still have good signal. It looks like I may not get that until September or Q1 2012. Well, so be it.

Apple is starting to get the attitude that they cannot make a mistake, and Android device makers are capitalizing on Apple's arrogance.

Dude... if you're dropping 90% of your calls on the iPhone 3G then you should have talked to AT&T. They would have given you a personal cell tower to fix your signal issue. Your iPhone has nothing to do with your poor signal strength.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Warbrain Avatar
189 months ago
Not surprising. Android is becoming the more dominant... thing.

Not the right reason...

I have a droid.(had iPhone on ATT but didnt get coverage at work/home) I payed an extra $100 to get the 1 year commitment in Nov 2009 just in case the CDMA iPhone came out a year later. Well it did come out a year later and my verizon contract was up. But I didnt get it because it was the same 8 month old phone and there is 0 chance I am going to get locked into a 2 year deal in january for a 8 month old phone that I wont be able to trade in until the June release 2.5 years later.

I'm surprised they are surprised.

This is. People who are or were with Verizon are now:

[LIST=1]
* Waiting for their contract to be up for renewal so they can upgrade
* Waiting for the iPhone 5
* Already switched to AT&T and may switch back once their AT&T contract is up


It's possible that once there's a new CDMA-capable iPhone and people's contracts are expiring with their Android smartphones they bought from Verizon as a stopgap that you'll see Android's share drop a bit.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OllyW Avatar
189 months ago
No surprises here, the majority of people are waiting for the next iPhone.

Too right.

The iPhone 4 is now 10 months old, that's getting a bit long in the tooth in the ever evolving tech world. :)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Popeye206 Avatar
189 months ago
Too right.

The iPhone 4 is now 10 months old, that's getting a bit long in the tooth in the ever evolving tech world. :)

Agreed, and I think that Android devices finally grew up into a decent alternative many people got tired of waiting and are now under contract with something else. So the available market shrunk as more people got under contract.

Even though the iPhone4 is a great phone, the iPhone 5 is needed soon to energize things. Too many people realize that the iPhone4 is nearing the end of it's life cycle.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Warbrain Avatar
189 months ago
Agreed, and I think that Android devices finally grew up into a decent alternative many people got tired of waiting and are now under contract with something else. So the available market shrunk as more people got under contract.

Even though the iPhone4 is a great phone, the iPhone 5 is needed soon to energize things. Too many people realize that the iPhone4 is nearing the end of it's life cycle.

This is the issue with a yearly product cycle. People begin to understand when that cycle starts over, avoid new purchases of the product, and even tell their friends and family to not buy right now.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)