China Mobile Still In Talks With Apple For The iPhone

Speculation about the iPhone launch on China Mobile has been around this entire year, but so far no official announcement has been made yet. Recently there have been a barrage of rumors pointing to an imminent launch, with media outfits like The Wall Street Journal confirming the launch of iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on China Mobile “around December 18th.” China’s official news agency also pegged the launch on this very day, the day China Mobile switches on its commercial 4G service. However the carrier proved these rumors false today as it made no announcement of an iPhone launch. Instead, it said that talks with Apple are currently underway and both parties have not reached an agreement as yet.

Addressing the press today, China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua specifically cleared up that the carrier had no announcement to make on the iPhone deal with Apple. This was later confirmed in the day by Ge Qi, a spokesman for China Mobile. So as it stands right now, the iPhone’s won’t be launched for the carrier’s over 750 million subscribers. This launch is going to be a big one for Apple, with analysts expecting an additional $10 billion in yearly revenue coming from China Mobile subscribers alone. Analysts also predict that as many as 12 million iPhones can be sold on the carrier in 2014.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: china mobile, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S