Apple will reportedly partner up with AT&T and T-Mobile in order to offer prepaid account activations for iPhones purchased in Apple’s retail stores.
9to5Mac said Apple Stores will begin stocking AT&T GoPhone SIMs and activations kits and T-Mobile SIMs, allowing customers to buy full-price iPhones and walk out of the store with a connected device. The report says Apple Stores will begin the prepaid offering during the last week of June.
As the report points out, Apple is rumored to be releasing two new bigger iPhones this year, so this offer could be aimed toward clearing out existing iPhone 5C and 5S stock.
Apple Store employees will reportedly be pushing the GoPhone $60 monthly plan with 2.5 GB of LTE and unlimited talk and text as well as T-Mobile’s unlimited talk, text, and data plans—a $50-per-month plan with a 1 GB LTE data cap and a $70 plan with a 5 GB LTE data cap.
AT&T recently held a much-hyped re-launch for its Aio Wireless brand as Cricket, combining the fledgling prepaid brand with the established player Cricket that AT&T bought for $1.2 billion. But if this report is true, it will be AT&T’s GoPhone that earns the coveted shelf space in Apple’s glossy retail spots.