iPhone Represents 73% of Smartphone Sales, 55% of All Postpaid Phone Sales at AT&T in 2Q 2012

AT&T today announced financial results for the second quarter of 2012, revealing that the carrier activated 3.7 million iPhones during the quarter, down from 4.3 million in the previous quarter as customers begin to slow their purchases ahead of the next-generation iPhone launch.

attlogo375wide
Notably, AT&T's 3.7 million iPhone activations accounts for roughly 73% of the carriers 5.1 million total smartphone sales during the quarter, down slightly from last quarter's share. With smartphones now accounting for 77% of AT&T's total postpaid device sales, the iPhone represents approximately 55% of the carrier's total phone sales to contract customers, down slightly from last quarter's 60% share.

AT&T sold 5.1 million smartphones in the second quarter. Smartphones represented 77 percent of postpaid device sales. At the end of the quarter, 61.9 percent, or 43.1 million, of AT&T's postpaid subscribers had smartphones, up from 49.9 percent, or 34.1 million, a year earlier. AT&T's ARPU for smartphones is twice that of non-smartphone subscribers, and about 88 percent of smartphone subscribers are on FamilyTalk® or business plans. Churn levels for these subscribers are significantly lower than for other postpaid subscribers. More than one-third of AT&T's postpaid smartphone customers use a 4G-capable device.

Android, iPhone and Windows device sales were supported by AT&T's 4G network. Only AT&T's 4G network lets iPhone 4S download three-times faster than any other U.S. carrier's network. In the quarter, the company activated 3.7 million iPhones, with 22 percent new to AT&T.

Although Verizon reported a 16% quarter-over-quarter drop in iPhone sales and AT&T's numbers reveal a similar 14% decline, the performances are generally being viewed as a positive for Apple, which will report its earnings after the close of trading today. Analysts were already expecting Apple's overall iPhone sales to decline this quarter ahead of the next iPhone launch, and with the company's domestic sales holding up relatively well and international sales likely still booming, the company is likely to post solid results for its primary revenue generator.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...

Top Rated Comments

Rogifan Avatar
175 months ago
AT&T sucks.

They took advantage of my grandpa just because he's old..........they added BS fees on his bills.

Also they have BS customer support.

Verizon is much better.
Not sticking up for AT&T but just curious what these fees were that got added to his bill? I wasn't aware AT&T could add fees to people's bills because they're old...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
miles01110 Avatar
175 months ago
Err... nowhere in the earnings statement does it say that the iPhone represents 77% of AT&T's smartphone sales. Also, 3.7 million iPhones is approximately 72.5% of 5.1 million smartphones, not 77%, but iPhone sales figures aren't in the earnings statement either.

edit: Sorry, italics above are incorrect. Reading fail.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rjohnstone Avatar
175 months ago
I like how AT&T list iPhone "activations" instead of actual sales.
We all know a chunk of those activations are not new iPhone sales, but new activations for a used device.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Xenomorph Avatar
175 months ago
AT&T was given the original exclusive contract by Apple. AT&T had three years to cultivate a customer base before any of the other telecoms got the opportunity to sale Iphones. That is the reason 73% of AT&T sales are Iphones. Its not because AT&T is doing anything special.
AT&T still offers the BEST network for iPhones, at least in the US.

- They've been GSM out of the box, since 2007. Tons of AT&T iPhones have been unlocked and are used all over the world, and that helps with resale value or if you decide to switch networks (it makes the AT&T phone worth more).
- They've been able to do Voice & Data at the same time. This isn't a huge deal, but it helps greatly if you're on speakerphone and want to look something up.
- They have the fastest download speeds. Even if iPhones on other networks were getting 100% speed, the AT&T iPhone would still be twice as fast as them.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macboy Pro Avatar
175 months ago
He we go with the weekly, thoughtless, unintelligent AT&T Haters thread.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IPlayFair Avatar
175 months ago
AT&T Got a Head Start on the Other Telecoms

AT&T was given the original exclusive contract by Apple. AT&T had three years to cultivate a customer base before any of the other telecoms got the opportunity to sale Iphones. That is the reason 73% of AT&T sales are Iphones. Its not because AT&T is doing anything special.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)