Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced this morning that the iPhone 5 smartphone will be made available for sale in Apple’s second largest market, China, on December 14, this year.
Being Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s second largest market in the world, China awaits the latest model of Apple’s smartphone after the approval by the Chinese government. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) said that its WiFi version of iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad with Retina display will also be available in Chine on December 7.
Although, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s press release does not mention any news about Chinese carrier partners, it has reportedly reached agreements with China Unicom and China Telecom in place.
With Apple’s new products finally entering the region, Chinese consumers will now be able to get all these gadgets from the Apple Online Store, Apple resellers, and through reservations from Apple retail stores.
It has been reported that despite Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s announcement on releasing iPhone 5 in China, the long wait caused Apple’s smartphone market share a 10% decline in the second quarter. Earlier this month, Apple dropped off China’s top 5 smartphone vendors, causing a decline of 8% in iPhone’s share of shipments ; while Market leader Samsung stood at 14%.
iPad mini and the new fourth generation iPad with Retina display are currently available in 42 countries, and iPhone 5 currently is available in 47 countries. The U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K. are included in that list.
China Unicom, China’s second largest mobile carrier, said earlier this month that it anticipated to sell iPhone 5 this year as it purports to see a boost in 3G subscribers to a 100 million by the end of year 2012.
It has also been reported that China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center has approved an Apple phone for a network-access license.
Here it is notable that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 4S was a great hit in China.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares on Thursday closed at $589.36 and declined 0.2% in the pre-market trading.
