China Mobile will be starting widespread 5G LTE testing by mid 2017 according to a new report. Here are the details.
Apple has announced that it has reached a deal with Chinese carrier China Mobile to make the iPhone officially available on the network starting January 17, 2014. Consumer demand for the iPhone has historically been extremely high in the Chinese market, but has dwindled in recent times thanks to the availability of affordable devices from rivals Samsung and local Chinese manufacturers. The official tie-in with China Mobile will see the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c officially made available for sale through the world's largest network starting January 14, 2014.
Apple has, for a long time, intended to make a more substantial effort to capture the Chinese market, and with both the new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s hitting China from the get-go, said this effort is most certainly in motion. To add to this, it would appear that the iPhone 5c and 5s have now passed the mandatory certification to carry radios compliant with China Mobile. Not only is it the largest carrier in China by a considerable distance, but it's actually the biggest network the world over, and the grand launch should be hitting its 750 million users at some point in the near future. More details can be found right here after the leap.
It's no secret that Apple has never been closer to releasing a new iPhone, yet the company has never commented on it publicly. However, Steve Jobs itself seems to have been engaging in 'secret meetings' with China Mobile executives to bring the device to the network.
Despite being the world’s most popular smartphone, the iPhone is yet to make an appearance in the Chinese wireless carrier market. Today, an iPhone (5?) apparently running on China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network has been caught in the wild, which is sure to give hope to those in China desirous of an iPhone.
According to an employee at China Mobile, China's state-owned mobile carrier, the long-awaited next-generation iPhone will hit shelves in September. This is yet another report in a long chain of rumors of a next-generation iPhone, which have intensified over the last few days.