iPhone 6 likely to keep subsidies from Chinese carriers
Staff Reporter 2014-09-04 15:27 (GMT+8)
 Apple finally bows to pressure to make a larger smartphone, Aug. 30. (File photo/CNS)
As Apple gears up to launch marketing and sales for the iPhone 6 in China, the country's three major telecom carriers have yet to reach an agreement with Apple over marketing proposals, but they are unlikely to cut subsidies for iPhone purchases as has previously been reported, Beijing-based Caixin Online reports.
China Mobile, which has previously lost out in negotiations with Apple, will this time sell the iPhone 6 alongside its two competitors China Telecom and China Unicom. The iPhone 6 will likely secure more 4G mobile phone users for the telecom carriers, so the three are unlikely to take action to cut subsidies, especially when marketing the iPhone 6, said unnamed industry insiders.
The three carriers have yet to take delivery of any iPhone 6 handsets and they are unlikely to begin marketing the phone openly until Apple officially unveils the smartphone later this month.
Apple recently issued invitation letters for the unveiling of the iPhone 6 in the United States on Sept. 9, although it's still unknown whether China will be one of the first places that the phone will be launched, as the three carriers are still waiting for Apple to contact them.
China Mobile has already started pre-orders for a "mysterious new smartphone" that they have heavily hinted is the iPhone 6, the same strategy that the company used when it began marketing the iPhone 5S last year5.
Apple's sliding market share seems not to have affected its strong momentum. Although this year Chinese telecom carriers will cut marketing costs and lower subsidies for handset purchases, they don't plan to cut subsidies for purchasing Apple smartphones. "We will provide subsidies to companies that bring the highest average revenue per user (ARPU)," said one unnamed executive at China Mobile. "No doubt Apple will get the heaviest weighting."
Even if the three major telecom carriers plan to cut subsidies for smartphone purchases, Apple will be the last to be considered because it can help bring more 4G users for telecom carriers, said an industry insider.
This year will be the first time the three major telecom carriers will sell Apple products at the same time. In the 3G era, Apple first chose China Unicom as its partner, which began to sell the iPhone in October 2009. China Telecom first sold the iPhone 4S in the first quarter of 2012, while China Mobile didn't sell iPhones until December 2013.
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