The major shopping season for much of the world has wrapped up, but in the world’s biggest market it is just getting started. Chinese New Year is Friday January 31, and all three of the country’s largest mobile operators are promoting the iPhone as the gift-giving season gets underway.
Chinese consumers who rushed to buy the iPhone when it first hit the market (legally) may now wish they’d waited. China Telecom and China Unicom are discounting the newest models in an effort to lock in new contracts with customers who might otherwise switch to China Mobile when the world’s largest carrier starts offering the iPhone this Friday.
China Mobile currently has 760 million customers, more than half the total Chinese subscriber base of 1.2 billion. The company is not talking about pricing, but it has been taking pre-orders for both the 5s and the 5c, and will start selling both models in its retail stores Friday. The 5s and 5c will also be on sale in Apple retail stores in China on Friday.
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The iPhone has in the past been more expensive in China than in North America, but prices are coming down a bit ahead of China Mobile’s iPhone launch. China Telecom is cutting its price for the 16GB iPhone 5s to $213 (1,288 yuan) with a two-year contract, bringing its price closer to what American consumers pay for the phone. Meanwhile China Unicom actually has the handset for less than Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. Calling its promotion a ‘New Year Special’, China Unicom is offering the 16GB 5s for $132 with a two-year contract. Off contract, the iPhone 5s continues to be more expensive in China than in North America. China Telecom is offering the unsubsidized 5s for $874 and the 5c for $742.
Apple has just 6% of the smartphone market in China, trailing Huawei, Lenovo and of course Samsung, which dominates with a 21% market share. The China Mobile deal is expected to boost Apple’s market share, and could also impact the company’s earnings. Apple’s next earnings report is set for next week, just a few days after the China Mobile launch.