Although there are at least four good reasons why Sprint will not get the iPhone this year, the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reports that Sprint will indeed launch an iPhone in mid-October alongside AT&T and Verizon.
Sprint said it had no comment on the Journal's "iPhone rumor."
All year long, rumors have been circulating about the iPhone coming to Sprint this fall. However, it should be noted that in February, Apple snubbed the carrier (and T-Mobile) for the iPad 2 launch.
Meanwhile, Sprint has said it will announce a new 4G strategy on October 7. Most are speculating that Sprint will develop a high-speed LTE network on top of its existing Wimax 4G network, but few think the next iPhone will be ready for LTE support.
Last week, reports surfaced that China Mobile, the world's largest cell phone carrier by volume, would soon start offering iPhone units.
As for next-generation iPhone specs, there's an endless amount of speculation. Some of the more recent rumors include a completely revamped iPhone 5 with wireless juicing, and a "baby iPhone" for developing markets.
Losing track of all the Apple iPhone rumors? Be sure to check out What the iPhone 5 Might Look Like and Six Amazing Phone Technologies We Want in iPhone 5, as well as the 8 Likely iPhone 5 Rumors, and 2 Wild Ones slideshow below.
Additional reporting by Sascha Segan.