Reuters reports that recent talks between China Mobile and Apple have been progressing smoothly and that the two sides are positive about reaching an possible agreement, according to the company's chairman Xi Guohua. Mr Xi told Reuters that "both sides sounded keen" during recent talks, which have been ongoing since the start of 2011.
Of the three Chinese carriers, China Mobile is the only one to utilize TD-SCDMA technology, a standard developed by the company and not supported by any current iPhone model. The carrier has also been reluctant to commit to the huge cost of marketing and handset subsidies associated with the iPhone. But new chips from Qualcomm now give Apple an opportunity to support China Mobile's network in its upcoming hardware.
Apple is expected to unveil its redesigned iPhone next month and may also release a cheaper, emerging market smartphone. Crucially, it also now has Qualcomm Inc chips that can operate even on China's obscure networks. At the same time, Beijing is expected to grant 4G licenses by the year-end that favor the biggest of its domestic mobile operators.
Apple has so far ducked a deal with China Mobile as this would have required a redesign inside the iPhone to work on the operator's inferior TD-SCDMA 3G technology. For its part, China Mobile has been reluctant to commit to the huge cost of marketing and subsidizing sales of the expensive iPhone.
Beijing is looking to expand 4G networks within China by the end of the year and the licenses are expected to be based on TD-LTE technology, as supposed to the more widely-used FDD-LTE, both of which the new Qualcomm chips expected to be used in the upcoming iPhone 5C and 5S models support.
The report comes after China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network in terms of subscribers, posted healthy Q2 profits that beat the analyst expectations. Net income rose to CNY 35.2 billion ($5.8 billion) for the second quarter from CNY 34.4 billion ($5.62 billion) a year earlier, which surpassed the CNY 33.9 billion average of four analyst expectations, as reported by Bloomberg.
Although a date has yet to be confirmed by Apple, many sources confirm that new iPhone models will be announced on September 10. Recent leaks have provided strong evidence that Apple is developing a lower-cost smartphone, perhaps dubbed the "5C" for developing markets. And with chip technology now allowing Apple to more easily support China Mobile's network, the opportunity is ripe for the company to make a push on the world's largest carrier.
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone.
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports.
iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
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Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs.
On his blog Daring Fireball,...
Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge.
Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent.
Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....
Lower cost iPhone will cannibalize sales of more expensive iPhone. Expect sub $4 billion profit per quarter while Samsung surpasses $10 billion per quarter. :cool:
Dream on, newbie :D
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Lower cost iPhone will cannibalize sales of more expensive iPhone. Expect sub $4 billion profit per quarter while Samsung surpasses $10 billion per quarter. :cool:
So Samsung's PR is working the MR boards now, so sad :D
Lower cost iPhone will cannibalize sales of more expensive iPhone. Expect sub $4 billion profit per quarter while Samsung surpasses $10 billion per quarter. :cool:
Nice try, but Samsung's phones are actually quite decent. The back "plastic" that you Applesexuals complain about doesn't really feel cheap and it's finely engineered to withstand stains and scratches. 1 year and it still looks like brand new while my cheap, tin-can aluminum from Apple is full of scratches after 3 months of use.
yup, things tend to look brand new when they aren't used.
Lower cost iPhone will cannibalize sales of more expensive iPhone. Expect sub $4 billion profit per quarter while Samsung surpasses $10 billion per quarter. :cool:
Lower cost iPhone will cannibalise sales of more expensive Samsung phones. Expect $10 billion profit per quarter for Apple, while Samsung profits crumble. :D
What's the difference between these two statements? Yours is based on the assumption that Apple is run by idiots who don't have a clue about running a business. Mine's based on the opposite. Given that Apple has over $100 bn in the bank, mine is more likely to be right.
Samsung sales are fueled by the anti-Apple group, which is growing daily. They'll gladly pay full price on the newest Samsung phone to give Samsung ammunition against Apple. People who buy Apple products don't care about quality and features. They just want a phone with an Apple logo on the back. They would gladly trade in their $600 iphone for a cheap, $200 POS from Apple.
The fact that the iPhone 4 and 4S are outselling the iPhone 5 is proof of this.
Troll! ;-) If people didn't care about quality and wanted POS phone with an Apple logo, why not just get a Galaxy SIII and put an Apple sticker on the back? ... then they'll be supporting Samsung and satisfy their ego at the same time... :)
Your crap won't be heard here on the message board. Go stand outside of the Apple store and shout out to the people that buy Samdung :p
Guys more we reply to such Crap head, more he will dance around thinking himself great. Ignore this LOSER, yes LOSER :) BTW how are you taking Icahn tweet on AAPL lol
Reuters reports that recent talks between China Mobile and Apple have been progressing smoothly and that the two sides are positive about reaching an possible agreement, according to the company's chairman Xi Guohua. Mr Xi told Reuters that "both sides sounded keen" during recent talks, which have been ongoing since the start of 2011.
