AT&T sold twice as many Apple iPhone 5 units as Verizon did in the third quarter

posted by Alan F. / Oct 24, 2012, 12:42 PM

AT&T sold twice as many Apple iPhone 5 units as Verizon did in the third quarter

AT&T released its third quarter earnings on Wednesday morning, revealing that it activated 4.7 million units of the Apple iPhone in the three month period. That is up from 3.7 million activated sequentially in the second quarter of 2012 and 2.7 million activated in Q3 of 2011. As we pointed out earlier today, that means 77% of all smartphones activated by AT&T in the quarter were iPhones.

AT&T activated 4.7 million units of the Apple iPhone in Q3

AT&T also wanted to do a bit of bragging, revealing that it sold 1.3 million units of the new Apple iPhone 5 in the quarter, twice as many as the 650,000 sold in the same period by Verizon. Other stats show that after 5 weeks of being available, AT&T has signed up 2 million Mobile Share customers. We wonder how many signed up just to be able to use FaceTime over cellular. You might recall that the carrier is limiting that feature to its Mobile Share customers, unlike Verizon and Sprint.

Overall, AT&T now has 44.5 million smartphone using its pipeline, most of which are the Apple iPhone.

source: 9to5Mac via IntoMobile

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47 Comments

1. nwright94 unregistered

I think everyone on Verizon buys droids.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 12:51 PM 11

3. Synack

Posts: 688; Member since: Jul 05, 2011

Yep, because we have all the best of them.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 12:58 PM 13

7. nwright94 unregistered

Especially that droid razr maxx HD, just played with one and it was wonderful. I went with an iPhone 5 because being in college away from family who all use iPhones, I really benefit from iMessage and FaceTime. I don't hate droids at all. My circumstances called for a different device.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 1:15 PM 8

43. networkdood

Posts: 6330; Member since: Mar 31, 2010

AT&T has a better 'Droid' lineup, but its customers still associate an iphone with AT&T. The wife and I came to Verizon last November. Love my RAZR with JB 4.1.2.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 11:18 PM 0

46. nwright94 unregistered

Most are called Droid on Verizon, I'm not grouping together all androids. I know how annoying that is haha.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 11:39 PM 0

22. theoak

Posts: 324; Member since: Nov 16, 2011

AT&T's i5 can do data and voice at the same time. Verizon's can't. This can be huge for some folks.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 3:09 PM 6

29. JunitoNH

Posts: 1946; Member since: Feb 15, 2012

Lol I just wrote the same, +1 for you. To some people it seems as an important feature.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 3:55 PM 1

33. sithvenger

Posts: 371; Member since: Aug 25, 2012

I sure as hell do.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 4:08 PM 3

35. speckledapple

Posts: 902; Member since: Sep 29, 2011

Actually that is something that most people care nothing about. The only ones who really do are the same people conversating on this board. The average consumers cares less which is why Verizon has more subscribers, meaning that all those people do not care about data and voice at the same time.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 4:11 PM 1

36. nwright94 unregistered

There's that too. I switched from AT&T because they aren't so good in the Pittsburgh area where I moved to and really miss that feature.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 4:12 PM 0

42. BattleBrat

Posts: 1476; Member since: Oct 26, 2011

On Verizon, If you are getting data from a 4g connection you CAN talk and surf at the same time, if you drop to a 3g connection you cannot. And on AT&T it is IF (and that is a big if) you can GET voice and data at the same time. I've had many a friend jump ship to Big Red.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 10:40 PM 1

47. tha.fox

Posts: 100; Member since: Nov 30, 2011

theoak you are wrong all verizon 4g phones including iphone 5 can talk and surf at the same time. on lagit 4g to haha

posted on Oct 25, 2012, 1:33 PM 0

25. The_Innovation

Posts: 648; Member since: Jul 18, 2012

Yea people on AT&T were pretty much forced to buy an iPhone. Really no other good phone out there. But soon as the Optimus G, the Lumia 920, and the XPERIA TL come out...things will change.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 3:17 PM 1

26. ZayZay

Posts: 571; Member since: Feb 26, 2011

I will have to disagree. From dealing with their android line up I would say The S3, One X are pretty good phones. I played with the new HTC X8, Samsung Note 2 and, Xperia, 920, Optimus G and one other Lower end HTC and they were all pretty sweet.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 3:49 PM 0

30. The_Innovation

Posts: 648; Member since: Jul 18, 2012

Yea the SIII was a great seller no doubt. But when the iPhone came out, just like every year, it's the hottest selling product. We're talking about beating the iPhone, whether by marketing, or other means. Not really talking about the quality here.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 3:56 PM 0

34. sithvenger

Posts: 371; Member since: Aug 25, 2012

Gs2, gs2 skyrocket, Htc vivid, Htc one x, gs3, gnote, iPhone 3GS, 4. All great phones all on AT&T.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 4:10 PM 0

27. JunitoNH

Posts: 1946; Member since: Feb 15, 2012

You can be correct and I might be wrong, but also there's a sizable group of AT&T users, whom value using voice and data simultaneously. Therefore, remaining with the carrier is a no brainier, where as Verizon isn't supported.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 3:52 PM 1

40. Nadr1212

Posts: 741; Member since: Sep 22, 2012

crappy iphone and apple got richer, that is SOOOO NOT ironic

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 6:16 PM 0

2. abdane

Posts: 507; Member since: Oct 07, 2011

4Q11 AT&T have 7.6 is when iPhone 4S was released... 3Q12 AT&T have 4.7 is when iPhone 5 was released... ( decreased ) same thing with verzion and i guess it will also go with sprint so, people are getting smarter ;)

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 12:51 PM 3

4. Quezdagreat

Posts: 428; Member since: Apr 05, 2012

really? I thought it was because of the supply shortage

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 12:59 PM 0

6. mc1191

Posts: 40; Member since: Sep 08, 2012

It's probably because iphone 5 sold for 10 days (1 weekend) in Q3 2012 while the 4S had 18 days (2 weekends) in Q3 2011.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 1:13 PM 2

12. mc1191

Posts: 40; Member since: Sep 08, 2012

oops.. my apologies. Let me make a correction about what I've said about the iphone 4S. 4S had 18 days and 2 months in Q4 2011. It was released in October 2011.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 1:45 PM 0

13. TheMan

Posts: 494; Member since: Sep 21, 2012

Not quite. It's true that abdane's comparing part of Q3 with all of Q4, but sales are seasonal, so it'll be more meaningful when the two Q4's are compared.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 1:53 PM 0

14. sithvenger

Posts: 371; Member since: Aug 25, 2012

Supply shortage dude. Do your research buddy

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 1:59 PM 1

23. theoak

Posts: 324; Member since: Nov 16, 2011

4S was launched just a year ago. Folks are still going to be in their 2 year contracts with their 4S.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 3:11 PM 0

37. sithvenger

Posts: 371; Member since: Aug 25, 2012

That's true

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 4:12 PM 0

39. srgonu

Posts: 511; Member since: Feb 13, 2012

Sorry..but you are wrong. I have whole lot of apple fans in my office. Even though they all have 4S, they still purchased iPhone5 returning 4S for just $200 back to AT&T and extending their contract to another 2yrs. They are saying its a great deal. I really don't see any big difference in their phone. Hope atleast one of them try android flagship device and then tell me what they did is correct.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 5:30 PM 0

5. g2a5b0e unregistered

Gotta love the way everyone feels the need to spin things their way by only telling half the story. Hey, AT&T, why don't you show us the chart that details how many Android phones you sold vs. the other carriers or better yet, total phones sold? Take the good with the bad & paint us the whole picture.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 1:03 PM 1

9. Ninetysix

Posts: 2933; Member since: Oct 08, 2012

http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=23448&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=35518 * Strong smartphone sales of 6.1 million; postpaid smartphone customer base now 44.5 million, up 1.4 million from second quarter 2012 * 4.7 million iPhones activated; record sales quarter for Android and Windows smartphones

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 1:32 PM 0

8. Jyakotu

Posts: 867; Member since: Dec 12, 2008

Not surprising. When many people thing iPhone, they automatically think AT&T. When people think Android (aka DROID), they think Verizon. Sprint really doesn't have any phones that stand out other than their EVO line, but without the 4G LTE, getting an iPhone 5 is kind of pointless on Sprint, even for the slow unlimited 3G data.

posted on Oct 24, 2012, 1:30 PM 0

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