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"Rumors of an Apple partnership with China Mobile have circulated for years, with the latest round of whispers starting in September, and the two firms finally delivered today.\r\n\r\nApple and China Mobile announced that they\u00A0are bringing the iPhone 5s and 5c to the world\u2019s largest mobile network next month, with the\u00A0devices available both in China Mobile stores and Apple\u2019s own Chinese stores from January 17, 2014. Pre-orders begin on December 25 on China Mobile\u2019s website.\r\n\r\nThis came after\u00A0Chinese authorities\u00A0issued\u00A04G licenses\u00A0to the three major telecommunication operators in the country.\u00A0Earlier this year,\u00A0Apple gained regulatory approval\u00A0for its iPhones to\u00A0run on the TD-LTE standard used by China Mobile for its 4G networks.\r\n\r\nThere has been a lot of hype over China Mobile's iPhone deal. It seems like for Apple, being present on the world\u2019s largest carrier \u2014 with over 740 million customers \u2014 would significantly widen its reach and sales efforts in China\u2019s mobile market.\r\n\r\nHowever, there are several factors already working to counter this fact. It cannot be denied that it is good news for Apple to have finally signed a deal with China Mobile, and there will be an increase in new iPhone customers, but the promise of 740 million new customers -- or even a couple of million -- looks to be well overhyped.\r\n\r\n\r\nApple fans already have their iPhones\r\nDespite China Mobile not offering the iPhone, the other two carriers -- China Telecom and China Unicom -- do so. There is no stopping customers from heading over to both of those other operators if they really want to get their hands on the iPhone, even if that means living with less-stellar network coverage.\r\n\r\nFurthermore, it was recently revealed that according to internal statistics, 42 million of the more than 740 million China Mobile subscribers were carrying an iPhone -- even without a deal with Apple.\r\n\r\nThis fact actually points to how there is already a critical mass of die-hard Apple fans who have gotten their hands on the iPhone -- and a deal with China Mobile does not necessarily mean new iPhone customers: it just means these current iPhone users get to finally switch on high-speed data on their phones.\r\n\r\nApple had not been able to offer the iPhone on China Mobile primarily because it was unable to support the operator\u2019s unique TD-SCDMA 3G network \u2014 used only by the operator and no others worldwide.\u00A0This meant that the iPhone users on China Mobile\u2019s network could only use their phones for\u00A02G \u2013 GPRS/EDGE services.\r\n\r\nHowever, those who are die-hard Apple fans would \u00A0not blink an eye at just having the iPhone as a second smartphone alongside their main phones that are compatible with China Mobile's 3G network.\r\n\r\nObviously, they must be able to afford it too.\r\nThe iPhone is expensive for Chinese consumers\r\nWhich brings us to our next point -- that the iPhone sits squarely in the high-end smartphone category, which puts it out of reach for a lot of people.\r\n\r\nAmong the more than 740 million customers on China Mobile, how many can actually afford an iPhone? Even the lower-cost iPhone 5c is\u00A0cheaper, but not\u00A0cheap.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAccording to a recent Kantar Worldpanel ComTech report,\u00A0Google\u2019s Android operating system is growing steadily in China, gaining about a three percent share each quarter, as consumers seek lower-priced Android devices which are being produced by local brands.\r\n\r\nFor a stark comparison of how Apple is being threatened in China, look to Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi -- which hogged the limelight for overtaking Apple in terms of shipments in China's smartphone market in the second quarter this year, according to figures from\u00A0Canalys, an independent analyst firm.\r\n\r\nKantar's latest data also notes that\u00A0Xiaomi has nearly doubled its share of smartphone sales in China over the last 12 months \u2014 from 6.6 percent in Q3 2012 to 12.7 percent in Q3 2013. Kantar says that \u201CXiaomi is challenging the No. 2 spot\u201D \u2014 as Apple\u2019s share also slid from 24.7 percent in the third quarter last year to 13.8 percent this year.\r\n\r\nThe deal with China Mobile gives many investors hope that such a trend could be reversed -- but already analysts are all over the place with their estimates, according to a report by Business Insider. A bearish view from one of the analysts led to a mere one million estimate in new iPhone sales, while others range from 12 million to 17 million.\r\nChina Mobile will benefit more than Apple\r\nEssentially, it looks like those who love the iPhone have already gotten their hands on it somehow or other -- they either ditched China Mobile and headed over to the other carriers, China Telecom and China Unicom -- or they just bought it off-contract or on the gray market.\r\n\r\nAll that's left to convince are those who are China Mobile subscribers who aren't that fanatic about Apple but may be swayed to buy an iPhone when it gets offered on the carrier -- honestly not that compelling a case. There will obviously be an increase in new iPhone customers, but whether or not there will be a huge mass of new iPhone customers is the issue that is rather murky at this point in time.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe partner that will benefit more from this deal is China Mobile -- as it gets to add another option to its variety of subscribers and possibly keep those who are thinking of jumping ship to the other two carriers.\r\n\r\nIt doesn't seem like Apple will benefit as much as it's been hyped up for. However, the saving grace could be subsidies -- if China Mobile doles out a generous subsidy on the iPhone, it could sway consumers for whom the iPhone is just that bit too expensive.\r\n\r\nFor comparison,\u00A0the iPhone 5s will cost CNY5,499 ($898) on China Unicom -- when users choose a monthly plan that costs CNY386 per month ($63) and commit to a 30-month contract, they\u2019ll get it for free. The iPhone 5c is going for CNY4,699 on-contract via China Unicom. Signing on to the CNY286 monthly plan for three years or the CNY386 monthly plan for two years will get you a free one.\u00A0\u00A0On China Telecom, the iPhone 5s is free for those who subscribe to a two-year contract at a monthly cost of CNY389, while the iPhone 5c is free for buyers who sign on to a monthly plan of CNY329 for two years.\r\n\r\nAdvertisements and promotions could also play a huge part in getting the news out to consumers once the iPhone lands in China Mobile stores next month.\r\n\r\nIf both firms play the game well, they might just be able to sway phone users who haven't had their mind made up -- which could add up to a substantial number after all. Even if it may not be 740 million new iPhone customers, even a hundredth of that number could help boost Apple. After all, Apple revealed that it sold 33.8 million iPhones and 14.1 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2013 -- and millions more in sales will definitely be a boon.\r\n\r\nHeadline image via Lintao Zhang/Getty Images, images via Getty Images, Getty Images and Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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