Apple's Negotiations and the iPhone in Europe - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple's Negotiations and the iPhone in Europe

The Guardian reports on more confirmation that O2 will be the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the UK. They also claim that T-Mobile for Germany and Orange in France will be announced on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Of interest, they describe that Apple pursued a "divide and conquer" strategy in partnering the iPhone in Europe, pitting carriers against each other. In the end, O2 won the deal, but at a high price:

...at the 11th hour O2 snatched the UK deal with an offer that gave such a high proportion of revenues to Apple that none of its competitors could see any way of making any return on the phone, even over three years. They believed that even if it was treated as purely a loss-leading marketing product, a better return could be had by spending the money elsewhere.

Apple is hosting a media event in London at 10am local time on Tuesday September 18th, 2007. While Apple is widely expected to launch the UK iPhone at that time, there are conflicting reports on the details.

ThinkSecret believes the iPhone will ship in the UK during the week of November 12th, and expect another media event around September 24th for France. Meanwhile, Gizmodo expects the UK iPhone to ship by the end of October.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple Says CarPlay Ultra is Coming to These Vehicle Brands

Thursday May 21, 2026 11:53 am PDT by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly a year later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. CarPlay Ultra...
imac video apple feature

Apple Released Two New Accessories This Month

Friday May 22, 2026 12:24 pm PDT by
May has been a quiet stretch in terms of new Apple products, but the company did release two accessories on its online store this month. First up was a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. U.S. pricing is set at $49. The band is part of Apple's 2026 Pride Collection, which also includes a new Pride...
Apple Event Logo

Apple to Release These 15 New Products Later This Year

Friday May 22, 2026 6:36 am PDT by
April and May have been relatively slow months for Apple this year, but there is a lot to look forward to heading into WWDC 2026 and beyond. Apple is expected to release at least 15 more products later this year, with some of them held up until the more personalized version of Siri launches. Beyond the usual annual updates to iPhones and Apple Watches in September, Apple's all-new smart...