China Unicom, China’s second largest wireless network provider, announced on Monday on its official microblog account that the online reservation for the latest Apple products iPhone 5S and 5C already exceeds 100,000 a week after its launch.
The Shanghai-based telecommunications company has not released any information yet about the mobile plans they will offer along with the new iPhones but consumers are still eager to make sure they have a unit to pick up on its Sept. 20 launch.
Apple is releasing the low-cost iPhone 5C and its high-end counterpart iPhone 5S in two major wireless providers in China-- the China Telecom and China Unicom.
It is the first time that the Cupertino-based company is partnering with the Chinese providers in hope to stop rivals from eating up the market share in the biggest market for mobile phones. This objective however may face challenges as network carriers are considering less support as they also try to control their costs. China Telecom recently shared its handset subsidies for the 5S and 5C iPhones. Analysts are approximating that the offers are 15 percent lower than the previous model.
The monthly plan for China Telecom costs 289 yuan or $47, which has a subsidy of 2890 yuan for an iPhone 5S. This is 15 percent lower than the 3400 yuan subsidy for the previous model iPhone5. Jacky Yung, a spokesperson for China Telecom, declined to comment about the reported pricing.
“Generally, the higher monthly iPhone 5S/5C tariff plan or a longer contract period a subscriber chooses, the higher handset subsidy the subscriber could enjoy," Yung said to an email to Bloomberg.
China Unicom might also be taking the same direction, according to HK analyst for Jefferies Group LLC Cynthia Meng. She shares that both carriers are "more rational on price competition" and are keen at striking a balance between quality and quantity.
According to sources, the largest mobile company China Mobile has no distribution agreement for the iPhone but Apple will soon get the deal as it prepares for the new iPhone models to be shipped to the mobile network provider.
