Section: Apple News, Rumors, iPhone + Communications, iPhone

According to a report by Fortune today, AT&T Inc. will subsidize $200 of the purchase price for new iPhones purchased this summer, reducing its cost to as low as $199. Although Apple wouldn’t be particularly happy, they wouldn’t be able to object either, due to increasing iPhone sales through AT&T.

Fortune claimed in its report that AT&T will subsidize the price of new iPhones capable of accessing the 3G data network that the carrier is currently expanding in the United States. AT&T’s $200 price cut would likely be limited to customers who sign a two-year contract, and would not be available directly through Apple. Apple and AT&T now sell the iPhone for $399 for the 8 GB model and $499 for the 16 GB model, and the expected 3G models are estimated to have the same list prices. Several weeks before the new 3G iPhone is to be released, Apple will stop supplying the current iPhone models to reduce inventory, according to Fortune.

Both Apple and AT&T declined to comment on the report, with representatives from both companies stating that they do not comment on speculation.

Read [Fortune’s Report]

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