Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
CHINESE USERS WELCOMED a long-awaited tie-up between Apple and China Mobile, the world’s biggest wireless operator, but analysts warned Monday that the deal’s impact depends on the quality of the carrier’s 4G network.
The US technology giant and China Mobile unveiled the agreement to bring the iPhone to customers on a network with an estimated 760 million subscribers and until now dominated by low-cost Android smartphones.
The US company’s iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C phones will be available at China Mobile and Apple retail stores across mainland China starting 17 January, they said in a joint statement.
Demand
Chinese mobile phone users gave the deal a rousing ovation, hailing it as “a marathon love affair that finally came to a happy ending,” in the words of one fan.
“It finally comes – I’ve been waiting for so long that I’m exhausted,” a user with the online handle Gluttonous Miser posted on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
Apple iPhones can currently be used on China Mobile’s 2G network, but not on its higher-speed 3G network due to a home-grown standard the carrier has adopted.
While users were generally upbeat, some raised concerns about the cost of the devices to be offered by China Mobile.
“Come on, the price must not let us down, it has to be encouraging, better not to go over 4,000 yuan (€480),” wrote another user.
The unsubsidised price of the iPhone 5C, a model with a slightly reduced cost to appeal to budget-conscious consumers and available in a range of colours, is $550 in the US, but higher in other countries, often due to tax and regulatory issues.
In China, the 5C currently sells at more than €510, and the 5S goes for €635 on Apple’s official China site. Apple and China Mobile said that pricing details under the new deal will be announced “at a later date”.
However, analyst Ben Bajarin at Creative Strategies said he expects “some kind of subsidy” for the iPhone in China.
“Carriers know the iPhone is the best smartphone on the market at helping them sell premium services. This is why it will always be relevant,” he said in a tweet.
Negotiations between Apple and China Mobile took years, with one key hurdle reportedly being the US company’s demand for sales volume guarantees.
Slow growth
The deal gives Apple a bigger entry into the huge Chinese market, as the company is facing declining market share and seeking to counter the flood of low-cost smartphones from rivals.
Even though iPhone sales grew 25.6 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier, growth was slower than the overall market and Apple’s market share fell to 12.9 per cent from 14.4 per cent in the same period last year, according to a survey by market intelligence firm IDC.
But analysts said that the immediate benefit from the partnership will be limited given that many of China Mobile’s customers are already using iPhones, lessening the prospect of a sharp boost to sales.
They said the main rationale for the deal was likely both companies’ strategy in the 4G era, which will allow users to – among other things – watch movies and play games on mobile networks at a much faster speed and in better quality.
In the statement, Apple and China Mobile said the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C “both offer more 4G LTE bands than any other smartphone in the world.”
“The collaboration between Apple and China Mobile will give a big boost to the development of China’s homegrown 4G/TD-LTE technology,” it said.
China granted three state-owned operators licenses early this month to offer services on the new network, and China Mobile is rolling out the world’s biggest 4G network.
“If [China Mobile's] 4G network comes online [with good quality], the impact will be rather big,” Xu Zhipeng, a Beijing-based analyst with research firm Zero2ipo Group, told AFP.
However, given the operator’s problem-prone 3G network, it will take time for Chinese users to build up confidence and accept the new network, he said.
“Customers may take a wait-and-see attitude towards its 4G network and will not rush to (grab an iPhone) as its price is rather high,” Xu said.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Nothing Wong with capitalism, there’s bucket loads of money to be made.
Well done Stephen *slow clap*
I know sorry, need fresh air ASAP.
iPhone fi
Just bought a goophone i5s direct from china. android based but with ios7 lookalike skin. looks exactly like the iphone5s but of course it doesnt have the same spec. but it is unlocked and for a cost of E150 delivered it does open the door to some good non contract sim only offers.
An the sheer joy of it. Wont the world be a far better place now that the venal Apple can sells its wares to the enslaved Chinese masses.
Perhaps the Chinese government caved in when Apple agreed to attach a remote control Taser app to each device, to help the democratic process like.
Timmay, what are you talking about? The Chinese masses are becoming more and more free. They were enslaved before China opened up.
Tommy is one of these deluded android users who really hasn’t a clue about technology and just spouts out regurgitated shite from other clueless android users who can’t form an opinion on their own unless they read it off some forum site.
Careful Jay, you might sound like a deluded Apple fan.
So somebody that uses android is stupid and uninformed about technology jay? Lol. I would call someone who invested in an android system a little smarter. Not restricted to what I can do with a OS, unlike iOS.
You chaps need to get reading to find out what China is really like. Make no mistake china is a totalitarian regime very little changed from before. Yes they now have added Starbucks ( for a few.) ultimately though we overlook, or just don’t care about their complete lack of openness, justice and freedom so we can get cheap pastiches of tat that we could never possibly need.
For Those who still gave a few brain cells to run with I’d suggest a book by the way because otherwise you’ll just quit after 90 seconds. If anyone thinks apple selling their largely Chinese made gadgets to the Chinese somehow advances humanity then I am a chinaman.
I love doing business in china no peasants ever get in the way of progress, they are simply removed or eliminated its great :)
I have a iPhone for two years and was looking to possibly change to a galaxy S4. I went in to have a look at one yesterday. Lovely looking phone.
Boy was I disappointed. A plasticky piece of rubbish. Slow to respond and more.
Looked great but that was about it really.
Great stuff
have your say