Has Apple finally teamed up with China Mobile to sell the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c in the mainland? Yes, if rumors are to be believed.
Apple launched the highly-anticipated iPhone 5s and the budget iPhone 5c in September this year, which is now also available in various countries, including China. The country is one of the biggest markets for Apple and its partnership with the biggest carrier in the country, China Mobile, may get the new handsets in the hands of millions of Chinese customers soon.
"A deal with China Mobile would give Apple a big boost in the China market as the largest local carrier has the most wealthy subscriber base. I estimate that among China Mobile's more than 700 million mobile subscribers, at least 10% or 70 million wealthier ones would be potential customers for iPhones," said Marvin Lo, an analysts with Hong Kong-based Mizuho Securities.
China Mobile has not officially announced the launch of iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c in China next month but rumors indicate that the carrier will launch the new handsets during its 4G global partner's conference in Guangzhou on December 18.
A China Mobile executive is also believed to have said that the company is ready to offer 4G services in the country even though China has yet to issue 4G licenses to mobile operators. In September this year, China's Telecom Equipment Certification Center gave the final license necessary for the iPhones to run on China Mobile's network, which means that Chinese consumers can lay their hands on the latest Apple smartphones sooner than later.
China is an attractive smartphone market as reports suggest that its handset penetration is still 50 percent, which spells big opportunities for smartphone vendors.
Competition in the worldwide smartphone space is rapidly increasing and big smartphone makers such as Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC etc. are aggressively developing new handsets with latest technology to keep pace with the competitors.
As China Mobile has a huge subscriber base, Apple may be able to grab a major chunk of the Chinese smartphone market with the launch of the latest iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c.
