China Mobile iPhone launch

China Mobile iPhone Launch

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and China Mobile's Chairman Xi Guohua presents an iPhone 5 to a customer at an event celebrating the launch of Apple's iPhone on China Mobile's network in Beijing. The long-awaited deal could trigger a limited turnaround for Apple, whose fortunes have wavered in China in the face of stiff competition from market-leader Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and up-and-coming local rival Xiaomi Tech.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook presents an iPhone 5s to a customer at an event celebrating the launch of Apple's iPhone on China Mobile's network in Beijing. Samsung had a 21 percent share of China's smartphone market in the third quarter of 2013, with Apple trailing in fifth place with just 6 percent, according to research firm Canalys. But the arrival of the iPhone could be a double-edged sword for China Mobile, with some analysts predicting a costly subsidy war as rival carriers compete to lure customers.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and China Mobile's Chairman Xi Guohua clap their hands at an event celebrating the launch of Apple's iPhone on China Mobile's network in Beijing. China Mobile's iPhone sales are expected to reach 12 million in its 2014 fiscal year, but its subsidies will leap 57 percent to 42.4 billion yuan ($7 billion), up from 27 billion yuan in its fiscal year 2013, wrote Cynthia Meng, a Jefferies analyst, in a December note.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and China Mobile's Chairman Xi Guohua are silhouetted at an event celebrating the launch of Apple's iPhone on China Mobile's network in Beijing. For the basic 16GB iPhone 5S, with no subscriber contract, China Mobile is charging 5,288 yuan ($870), the same as on Apple's China website. The carrier is charging 4,488 yuan ($740) for a basic iPhone 5C, again the same price as on Apple's China site.

People line up to buy iPhone at a China mobile store in Wuhan. China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd slashed their iPhone prices by as much as 1,288 yuan ($210) following the announcement that a deal had been struck between Apple and China Mobile. The pair have also offered a range of cut-price deals on contracts.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and China Mobile's Chairman Xi Guohua walk along a street outside the China Mobile store in Beijing. These offerings and the launch of the iPhone on China Mobile come in the weeks running up to Chinese New Year, when people traditionally exchange gifts of money in red envelopes and retail sales jump.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook reacts at an event celebrating the launching of Apple's iPhone on China Mobile's network in Beijing. After taking years to hammer out a deal with China Mobile, Apple's sales in China should get a short, sharp boost as subscribers make the most of the double-whammy of the iPhone's arrival and the rollout of high-speed 4G mobile networks.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and China Mobile's Chairman Xi Guohua pose with a customer at an event celebrating the launch of Apple's iPhone on China Mobile's network in Beijing. Reservations for iPhones had already hit 1.3 million on Wednesday, according to a China Mobile spokeswoman, although Reuters checks showed that there were multiple registrations using fake ID numbers.

A staff of a China Mobile shop explains a function of the iPhone 5s to a customer in Beijing. But the rewards are expected to be short-lived for the Cupertino, California-based company, which faces a deeper problem in China of having fallen out of favor with consumers who are increasingly opting for domestic offerings.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook and China Mobile's Chairman Xi Guohua are silhouetted at an event celebrating the launch of Apple's iPhone on China Mobile's network in Beijing. Another issue is the thriving grey market for iPhones, where users can buy handsets typically smuggled from Hong Kong and then sign up for a China Mobile contract. China Mobile already has 45 million iPhone users in China, according to a company spokeswoman