After months of “being in talks” with China’s largest carrier, China Mobile, Apple seems to have closed a deal with the carrier that includes distribution for the upcoming iPhone 5. On top of that, China Mobile is now saying that it has reached an agreement with Apple to bring an iPhone 5 with 4G speeds to its network.
The report doesn’t directly imply that a 4G-equipped iPhone would release on China Mobile this Fall, and recent reports have said that a 4G iPhone won’t be seen until at least 2012…
“China Mobile claims that it has reached an agreement with Apple to bring to bring its 4th generation TD-LTE mobile data connection to the next generation iPhone. The claim isn’t exactly new news as it was originally reported back in May, and doesn’t specify which model of iPhone it will be in, but could hint at the next generation iPhone actually being an iPhone 4S type device, with updated 4G capabilities, rather than a totally new iPhone 5 design.”
Industry reports have been claiming that Apple will unveil two iPhone models this Fall, with one of the devices being a cheaper, retooled version of the current iPhone 4. This news from China Mobile actually echoes a smilar report from China Telecom that Apple is about to introduce two new iPhone models simultaneously.
Apple has been clear that China is a huge market for the company, and making the iPhone 5 available to the carrier’s 600+ million wireless customers would be a huge gain.
However, we’re unsure about the claim of a 4G-equipped device. Â Rumors have suggested that 4G technology won’t be up to Apple’s standards until at least another year, and it would seem far fetched for Apple to introduce a 4G device in the coming months.
What do you think?
[9to5Mac]