After years of negotiation, it looks like Apple iPhone is finally coming to world’s largest mobile carrier. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple and China Mobile has come to an agreement to sell Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5C on China’s most popular mobile network. Apple is currently preparing to ship the new low-cost iPhone 5C to China, reports the Journal.
The two companies has been in negotiations for more than 2 years which tells that reaching an agreement with China mobile was not an easy feat for Apple. The main problem was China Mobile’s use of TD-SCDMA standard, which Apple have not previously supported in iPhones. Revenue sharing terms were also an issue. Tim Cook met China Mobile’s officials several times over the course of year to come to an agreement.
Bloomberg is also out with its report corroborating with the Wall Street Journal’s story, except that it claims the China Mobile partnership won’t be announced at next week’s event.
Coming to agreement with China Mobile, a carrier with 700 million subscriber base, is indeed a great achievement for Apple to stop its gradually declining market share in China that has been flooded with low-cost Android devices from Samsung and Xiaomi.
iPhone 5C is said to be a low-cost, more affordable alternative to its traditional iPhone model for emerging markets. It’s rumored to come in same iPhone like specs but enclosed in plastic casing in multiple color options. It’s expected to cost between $400-$500, making it a more affordable alternative to iPhone 5S. Apple is set to unveil iPhone 5C alongside iPhone 5S at a media event of september 10.