New iPhone Tests a Wireless Industry Scarred by Price Wars
- After last year’s giveaways, T-Mobile says it may steer clear
- Free Hulu, HBO among aggressive freebies offered this year
Boxes of Apple Inc. iPhone 7 Plus smartphones sit on shelves at the Apple Store inside the IAPM shopping mall in Shanghai, China, on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. Apple hopes its new iPhone 7 will help to stem a two-quarter decline in iPhone sales by enticing users to upgrade to the 7's faster processor and expanded memory options.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergA new iPhone means another opportunity for America’s wireless companies to engage in a knock-down, drag-out price war -- if the carriers still have the stomach for it.
Apple Inc. is expected to drop the latest version of its best-selling device as soon as next month, a year after its last upgrade spurred freebies from the four biggest wireless carriers. T-Mobile US Inc. was first to let new or existing customers trade in an iPhone 6 for an iPhone 7, and Sprint Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. quickly followed with their own matching deals.