14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s upcoming iPhones will use Qualcomm chips that can operate even on China's networks, while Beijing is expected to approve 4G licenses by year’s end, reports Reuters.
This, coupled with the fact that Apple and China Mobile are actively negotiating leads to a high probability that the carrier’s 700 million subscribers may finally get subsidized iPhones this year.
The move would benefit both parties, but the scenario also presents some hurdles – technological ones for Apple, and marketing (financial) ones for China Mobile.
Nonetheless, Anand Ramachandran, a telecoms analyst at Barclays in Singapore, believes “The circumstances and the issues that were a hindrance in the past seem to be getting resolved.”
Ramachandran adds, “So I think there's a higher probability that potentially there's something in the works,”
Apple CEO Tim Cook paid China Mobile a visit in July. He talked to chairman Xi Guohua whom, after the discussions, told the press “We are actively negotiating and both sides are keen,” referring to a potential iPhone deal.
Xi reportedly added, “There are still some commercial and technology issues that need time to resolve.”
Whether or not those problems have been resolved remains to be seen.
Apple is known to have prepared not one, but two fresh iPhone models for unveiling at a rumored September 10 event.
At least one of these two iPhones should work on China’s 4G network, as well as pretty much every other network out there.
One of the phone models is reportedly named “iPhone 5C.”
Whether or not this is the final nomenclature that Apple has settled on, various hardware leaks indicate that the phone will be made from polycarbonate plastic.
Unlike the more expensive (but yet unconfirmed) iPhone 5S, which is getting upgrades on all levels, the 5C will basically be an iPhone 5 with a plastic enclosure (instead of aluminum).