China Mobile Adds One Million iPhone Users in February

China Mobile Chief Executive Li Yue confirmed on Thursday that the carrier added one million new iPhone customers last month following the iPhone's launch in mid-January, reports the Wall Street Journal. China Mobile released these subscriber figures as part of its annual earnings statement, which also included the carrier's first profit decline in 14 years.
iphone_5s_china_mobile To offset increasing competition from rival carriers China Unicom and China Telecom, China Mobile is trying to attract new customers with the combination of its new 4G network and flagship phones like the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c.

"We added 1.34 million new 4G users in February and most of them are iPhone users. We are happy with the progress as we are still building our 4G network and the coverage is only available in some major cities," China Mobile Chairman Xi Gouhua told The Wall Street Journal.

China is the world's largest mobile phone market by subscribers, and China Mobile is the country's largest wireless carrier with 776 million subscribers. Analysts predict the addition of the iPhone to China Mobile's smartphone lineup could boost iPhone sales by 15 to 30 million units in 2014. Apple sold 51 million iPhones globally in Q1 2014 and has sold 472.3 million smartphones in total as of January 2014.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 Release Candidate With Priority Notifications, Ambient Music and More

Monday March 24, 2025 10:07 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released the fourth betas. iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. With iOS 18.4, Apple is adding the Priority Notifications...
airpods max 2024 colors

Don't Buy Into Apple's Hype About AirPods Max Gaining Lossless Audio

Monday March 24, 2025 4:24 pm PDT by
Apple today announced that AirPods Max with a USB-C port will be gaining support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio with a firmware update next month, alongside the release of iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS 15.4. For context, audio files are typically compressed to keep file sizes smaller. There are lossy compression standards like MP3 and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), which...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Tuesday March 25, 2025 6:45 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 to the general public as soon as next week, following more than a month of beta testing. Apple's website says some iOS 18.4 features will be released in "early April," so the update should be out as early as Tuesday, April 1. Apple this week seeded the iOS 18.4 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, barring the discovery of any...
iOS 18

Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday March 21, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April. Priority Notifications If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Iridescent Search

Foldable iPhone Expected to Launch Next Year, Costing Around $2,000

Monday March 24, 2025 3:43 am PDT by
Apple will launch its long-rumored foldable iPhone next year with a ~$2,000 premium price tag attached, expects well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman's comments on Apple's launch plans for its first foldable device appeared in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter. Earlier this month, the reporter said Apple's foldable iPhone could be arriving "as early as 2026,"...
ios 19 messages app

Here's What Apple's iOS 19 Messages App Might Look Like

Tuesday March 25, 2025 11:52 am PDT by
Leaker Jon Prosser today shared a mockup of what he says the Messages app will look like in iOS 19, demoing an interface with rounded, translucent bubble-shaped navigation buttons at the top and softer, rounder corners for the keyboard and word suggestions. Jon Prosser's Messages app mockup The return button, a button for going back to the Messages list, and the FaceTime button have a deeper...

Top Rated Comments

Bubba Satori Avatar
144 months ago
This is great news for all of us in the Apple community. iPhone continues to dominate around the world over all other handsets. Ignore the haters Tim, you're continuing to drive the remarkable Apple success story to even higher levels.

Hi Phil.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roadbloc Avatar
144 months ago
Well done Apple I guess. :p
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
144 months ago
This is great news for all of us in the Apple community. iPhone continues to dominate around the world over all other handsets. Ignore the haters Tim, you're continuing to drive the remarkable Apple success story to even higher levels.

"You know, I think you're right! I'm going to continue being CEO. Thanks!" —Tim Cook
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TC03 Avatar
144 months ago
This is great news for all of us in the Apple community. iPhone continues to dominate around the world over all other handsets. Ignore the haters Tim, you're continuing to drive the remarkable Apple success story to even higher levels.
Stop it, I'm not in a community. And 1 million China users does not change the user experience of my iPhone. It's great news for Apple, not for me.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roadbloc Avatar
144 months ago
MacRumors is a community and you're a member. :) Apple's continued success translates to money they can invest in creating even more best of breed products in other categories. So it is good for news for all of us when Apple does well and we should celebrate it.

I disagree. I congratulate Apple for their success, but I ain't celebrating that a business that makes products that I may or may not like has more monies/market-share. Nor am I part of any 'community.' I use what I like and what suits my needs regardless of any brand or company it may be tied to.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Smartass Avatar
144 months ago
Apple's continued success translates to money they can invest in creating even more best of breed products in other categories.


like selling ipad 4 yet again?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)