China is a very big market that Apple has targeting for a while now. The Chinese market in recent years has been bombarded with Android devices that Apple’s market share continues to decline. Currently, the company’s market share stands at under 5%, but with the introduction of iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, the company may be able to turn things around, with the help from China Mobile.
According to a report from Unwired View, Apple has obtained TD-LTE licenses approval from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Both the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s have gotten approval for sale.
The two devices are expected to launch on China Mobile around November. It is also expected that the iPhone 5c will outperform the iPhone 5s, simply because its cheaper. The iPhone 5c off-contract pricing is set at $549, which is considerably higher than what was originally thought. It was rumored earlier that Apple may offer the iPhone 5c at $300-$400 price point, however, the internals are from the iPhone 5 (now discontinued), only the shell is different, which is the reason why its $100 cheaper.
Apple has very stiff competition to go up against. Vendors such as Samsung and Xiaomi have low-cost Android smartphones that have high end specs. Can Apple compete with them with the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s?
