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Tim Cook calls China Mobile launch ‘a beginning’ as Chairman says ‘multi-million’ iPhones ordered

Ive at iPhone 5 event (Getty Images)

(Image via Getty Images)

Ahead of the launch of the iPhone on China Mobile on January 17th, Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with the Wall Street Journal and other publications for a brief interview. Cook hints that this iPhone deal is only the beginning of a longer-term partnership between Apple and China’s largest mobile carrier:

Speaking in a small media briefing to Chinese media and The Wall Street Journal, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said he is “incredibly optimistic” about the outcome of the cooperation with the Chinese carrier.

“We’ve gotten to know each other….today is a beginning, and I think there are lots more things our companies can do together in the future,” Mr. Cook said.

Cook is likely referring to future generations of the iPhone, and other products such as the iPad, appearing on China Mobile’s network in the future. Cook also shares that half a million of the App Store developers are from China:

Mr. Cook said Apple wants to reach as many Chinese consumers as possible by offering iPhones through China Mobile, and added that the country has more than half a million people writing apps for the U.S. company’s iOS operating system.

“Apple has always been about making the best products, not the most products, so that’s always our North Star and that’s not going to change ever,” said Mr. Cook.

“Multi-millions” of iPhones have already been pre-ordered through China Mobile, according to a statement from China Mobile’s Chairman in the same interview. Earlier today, the WSJ reported that over one million iPhone 5s units were shipped from Foxconn to China Mobile. 


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China Mobile aggressively showcasing iPhones & iPads during initial launch with Apple

(via prcand.me)

(via <a href="http://prcand.me/posts/2013/12/13/look-what-i-found-iphones-at-china-mobile" target="_blank">prcand.me</a>)

Apple and China Mobile appear to be taking their newly established partnership and marketing it proudly as the Chinese service provider has devoted a majority of one of its retail locations to the iPhone and iPad line.

PRC and Me shared several photos taken at the retail location showing several ads and marketing material dedicated to the Apple products in a store once dominated by Samsung and other Android handsets.
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China Mobile subsidiary briefly accepting pre-orders for iPhones in possible soft launch

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With the iPhone launch on the biggest carrier in the world’s most populated market confirmed for 18th DecemberFortune spotted what appears to have been a soft launch in the city of Suzhou. The city is one of the richest in China, so would be a logical place for an early launch.

The attached screen grab comes from a website owned by a subsidiary of China Mobile Limited in Suzhou, a city of 5 million just west of Shanghai.

The site went live late Monday local time, when it began taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C … 
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$0 down on both 5c and 5s in China, but high monthly cost and 3-year lock-in

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TechInAsia reports that Chinese buyers are buying from China Unicom rather than Apple as the carrier offers both iPhone 5c and 5s with no up-front cost.

The catch? Monthly costs higher than in the USA, and contracts that run for either 30 or 36 months. Those monthly costs are massive in a country where the average monthly salary is around $800, and a 36-month contract means that buying an iPhone 5c or 5s today will see you sitting out the iPhone 6 and 6s/c/whoknowswhat.

It’s estimated that China already had 42M iPhone users before the launch of the new phones, and before they were officially supported by any of the local carriers.

Full comparison of U.S. and China Unicom costs below … 
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