Apple Taking Swing at Samsung with China Mobile

Apple will enter the world’s biggest market for mobile telephony, China, with the aid of China Mobile. Apple will duke it out with Samsung’s latest LTE phones, which are scheduled for launch next month, setting the stage for a battle of the heavyweights in China. 

Apple has announced that Apple and China Mobile have signed a multi-year agreement on December 22 to launch Apple’s iPhone via China Mobile’s distribution network.

As such, next year’s iPhone 5SC and 5C models will be sold starting January 17.  In addition, preorders will also begin on December 25. Apple and China Mobile have been working on reaching a deal for a long time, but Apple’s insistence on guaranteed sales volume has delayed the agreement.

China Mobile’s strategy is to lure high-end consumers by steadily supplying Samsung and Apple’s premium smart phones. China’s second largest mobile carrier China Unicom has been selling iPhones since 2009, and China Telecom Corp, China’s third largest, began selling iPhones in 2012.

As a result, Apple’s deal with China Mobile has coincided with Samsung Electronics’ new product roll out. China Mobile has previously announced an LTE Service Roll-Out Event held in Guǎngzhōuon on December 17 and 18 that it would launch the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3. Samsung is currently distributing a Galaxy Note 2 exclusively designed for China Mobile. The Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 will be available as early as next month. 

Samsung and Apple will clash in the existing mid-end market with the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and iPhone 5C, and in the premium high-end market Samsung's double-team will get in the ring with the iPhone 5C. 

Samsung and Apple now set their sights on 1.2 billion users of China’s market and geared up for a long, sustained battle for growth. China Mobile, now a partner of Apple, is the world’s single largest mobile carrier with 750 million subscribers.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said, “China is an important market,” then added, “Agreement with China Mobile is an opportunity to distribute iPhones in the world’s biggest market.”   

According to market research firm Cantor Fitzgerald, the number of iPhone users subscribing to China Mobile is estimated to be 3.5 million to 4.5 million already, and next year an additional 2.4 million iPhones will be sold.