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

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
iOS 26

Apple This November: iOS 26.2 Beta, Rumored New Products, and More

Thursday October 30, 2025 12:42 pm PDT by
Tomorrow is Halloween, and then November is upon us. Below, we outline what to expect from Apple next month, as the slower holiday season approaches. Apple is expected to kick off November by releasing iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1. With beta testing now wrapped up, the updates will likely be released this Monday, November 3 or Tuesday,...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Revamped Siri on Track to Launch Next Year

Thursday October 30, 2025 1:50 pm PDT by
Apple CEO Tim Cook today said that a more personalized version of Siri remains on track to launch at some point next year, with the new set of features expected to debut on the iPhone as part of iOS 26.4 in March or April. "We're also excited for a more personalized Siri," said Cook, on Apple's earnings call for the third quarter of the 2025 calendar year. "We're making good progress on it,...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 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. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...

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)