China Unicom and China Telecom to Start Pre-Orders for iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C Next Week
Chinese mobile carriers China Telecom and China Unicom will reportedly begin taking pre-orders for Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S and low-cost iPhone 5C next week, with deliveries being fulfilled the week after, according to a report from Reuters. The report follows the issuing of invitations for a September 11 Apple satellite launch event in Beijing, just hours after the company holds its main media event on September 10 at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
"There used to be a wait of a few months before Apple launches their latest products in China, but nowadays, China is too important a market for Apple and so it will be the first batch of markets to start selling the low and high-end iPhones next week," said a source at one of the telecom carriers, who declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to the media. [...]
Days after the launch in Beijing, both of Apple's current Chinese carriers will accept pre-orders. It will take about a week for them to deliver the new iPhones to their customers, the source said.
That timing supports circulating rumors and speculation about the new iPhones launching in the first wave of markets on Friday, September 20, roughly a week and a half after Apple's media event.
Currently, China Telecom and China Unicom are the only carriers in the country to carry the iPhone. China Mobile, the world’s biggest carrier, does not currently carry the iPhone, but there have been reports that the carrier may be close to a deal with Apple for the iPhone. Rumors have indicated that a China Mobile iPhone launch could come slightly later than on the other Chinese carriers due to the need for regulatory approval of unique iPhone hardware compatible with China Mobile's network.
Popular Stories
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...
Apple employees are back to work following a Thanksgiving break, and that means this week saw a number of new operating system updates for both public release and beta testing. This week also saw some misinformation about Apple's new NameDrop feature making the rounds, while Apple and Goldman Sachs appear to be on the verge of a break-up in their Apple Card and savings account partnership,...
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...
Best Buy is discounting a collection of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models to all-time low prices today. We're tracking these deals below in addition to great discounts on the Apple Pencil 2 and Apple Watch Ultra 1. MacBook Air Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the...
The release of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max saw the introduction of an entirely new user-configurable button known as the Action button, and now, MacRumors has seen extensive evidence confirming Apple is planning to include the Action button on the entire iPhone 16 range. Designs and plans for the Action button date back to at least 2021, as the button was intended for release alongside hapt...
Top Rated Comments
You make it sound like Apple is trying to defraud people. Some people are on the "S" cycle. It works fine for me because I get better specs in a tested design.
Im the other way around.. Im a S person.. Well i did have iPhone 3g. But then 3GS and 4S and now maybe 5S or 5C.
If only Apple could do enough to convince me to fall for any of these "S" versions. I went from a 3G, to a 4, to a 5 and see no reason to get a 5S.
they probably carry them back to china and sell them at premium.
this is how strong the demand is in china.