Update: AT&T seemed none-too-pleased with the allegations and gave us the following statement:
[tweet https://twitter.com/leewalker10/status/230703524634300416]
We heard reports in the past that retail employees at other carriers were instructed by higher-ups to push Android and other alternative smartphone options to customers interested in the iPhone. However, BGR claimed today that AT&T’s slow 3 percent growth of iPhone activations in the second quarter was likely the result of a similar strategy. Although iPhone activations made up roughly 73 percent of smartphones in AT&T’s Q2 report, the initiative has apparently been confirmed by three independent sources:
[tweet https://twitter.com/rjonesy/status/230700916075020289]
The report also claimed that one source indicated iPhone sales dropped from 80 percent to 50- to 60- percent of smartphone sales, at least in one region, since the initiative began. BGR also claimed retail staffs at AT&T in some regions are forced to choose an Android or Windows device over the iPhone for their company phone. We reached to AT&T for a comment and will update this post shortly when we hear back.
- AT&T sold 3.7 million iPhones last quarter representing 73% of all smartphones sold
- Report reiterates phone specs (NFC,1GB RAM, LTE), says only in earlier stages of production
