19 years ago, the iPhone broke the cell carrier business and built what we have today — and Apple's new Upgrade program could break it all over again
Where were you when the first iPhone went on sale back in 2007? I remember clearly that I was working for Phones4U — a third-party phone reseller in the UK — and the iPhone launch completely decimated the business, as suddenly Phones4U wasn't a reseller of the most popular phone on the market.
The same existential threat applied to all carriers except AT&T and O2, which had exclusive launch rights to the iPhone in the US and UK, respectively.
Fast-forward 19 years, and Apple has repeatedly proven that the iPhone's popularity gives it considerable power over its carrier partners — customers are no longer loyal to the carrier providing the mobile service, but to the brand behind their favorite phone.
Apple's newest commercial venture, the Apple Upgrade program — which was announced earlier this year and is, at the time of writing, still only available in the US— is...
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