While smartphone makers are now interested on selling mobile services to consumers of their products, Apple, arguably the most profitable among them, does not seem keen on doing the same. Rumors of the company launching its own mobile service have surfaced on Monday, August 3. A Business Insider report stated that Apple will be launching a mobile virtual network operator. The company has denied the rumor.
"We have not discussed nor do we have any plans to launch an MVNO," a spokesperson of the company said on Tuesday. Mobile carriers AT&T Inc. and China Ltd., among others, have been working with the smartphone maker since the first iPhone was launched in 2007. They have contributed to the success of the iPhone, making it the company's best-selling Apple product.
The carriers sell the iPhones at a discount under long-term mobile plans, according to Toronto Sun. It is a strategy that sells two things, a product and a service, at the same time. If Apple were to have its own mobile service to sell, it spells a conflict of interest among its partners in the network provider business. The partnerships may be cut down as a result thereof.
The rumored mobile virtual network operator has been said to be in its testing phase. The Business Insider report has indicated that the service may take at least five years to formally launch as a full service for consumers. So while a denial has been issued by Apple, the coming years may show the service materializing. For now, it is best to take Apple's word regarding the speculation.
Probably the closest Apple gets to a mobile service is the Apple SIM, which allows users in the U.S. and the U.K. to switch networks. The options, of course, come from the company's partner mobile carriers. Adding to the hype on Apple's mobile business is the new feature Siri has, which is currently being tested. The voice assistant is testing its voicemail transcription feature, which enables voicemails to be converted into text messages.
