Rumor: Apple doing advanced testing for Sprint iPhone

According to sources who talked to 9to5Mac, Apple is currently in the advanced testing stages for an iPhone compatible with Sprint's network.

Sprint was in the rumor mill a few weeks ago when an Apple job post appeared for a cellular engineering team based in Kansas City, Mo., where Sprint is headquartered.

With so much attention going to the AT&T and T-Mobile merger and rumors of whether the next iPhone will have 4G capabilities, the news that Sprint may be carrying the iPhone very soon has gone largely unnoticed.

The interesting thing to note in all of this is the timeline. If, in fact, 9to5Mac's sources are accurate and Sprint's iPhone does not support 4G, it is likely that no iPhone (in its next iteration) will support 4G. I say this because it is unlikely that Sprint will carry the iPhone 4 if (and yes, that's a big "if" right now) a new iPhone is released this fall, opting instead for the newer model.

And, it is unlikely that Apple would release a new iPhone with 4G for some networks, and without for others. The only other scenario is that Apple will release an iPhone 4S model this fall for Sprint (and other new networks to jump on the iPhone train), waiting for January (a year after the Verizon iPhone) to launch a full iPhone 5, most likely with 4G.

Right now, timing and details are still left to conjecture, but it seems to be clearer now that Sprint will indeed be carrying an iPhone in the near future. Are there any Sprint customers excited for this development? Would any current AT&T or Verizon iPhone users switch to Sprint? Let me know in the comments!