86 SHARES Share Tweet

The launch of iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on the world’s largest mobile carrier moves one step further, with a pre-order date being announced.

After months and months of rumors and endless speculation it was finally confirmed recently that China Mobile is going to launch both new iPhones on December 18, the same day it switches on its commercial 4G service. So far no pricing plan has emerged, so its unclear what China Mobile’s 750 million plus subscribers will have to play if they want to switch to Apple’s brand new iPhones. As per an advertisement on its website, China Mobile has revealed that it will start taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C in Shanghai this Thursday.

The advertisement reads “4G is here!,” and it invites subscribers to pre-order 4G compatible smartphones from Apple, Samsung and Sony. Those who sign up for China Mobile’s commercial 4G service will be spoilt for choice, they will have quite a few popular smartphones to choose from. The iPhones however, are completely new to China Mobile, the carrier has never offered Apple’s smartphones before. A customer representative for the carrier has confirmed that pre-orders go live in Shanghai this Thursday, and also confirmed that while the carrier is preparing a pricing plan for the new iPhones, the customer services team hasn’t been informed about it as yet.

Analysts expect that the launch of the new iPhones could bring in an additional $10 billion in yearly revenue for Apple. The company is expected to sell as many as 20 million iPhones in the first year alone on the carrier. It is also expected that the iPhone launch on China Mobile will be followed by the launch of the new iPads, later next year.

Source: Wall Street Journal