China Mobile Adds One Million iPhone Users in February

MacRumors · Mar 20, 2014

China Mobile Chief Executive Li Yue confirmed on Thursday that the carrier added one million new iPhone customers last month following the iPhone's launch in mid-January, reports the Wall Street Journal. China Mobile released these subscriber figures as part of its annual earnings statement, which also included the carrier's first profit decline in 14 years.

To offset increasing competition from rival carriers China Unicom and China Telecom, China Mobile is trying to attract new customers with the combination of its new 4G network and flagship phones like the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c.

"We added 1.34 million new 4G users in February and most of them are iPhone users. We are happy with the progress as we are still building our 4G network and the coverage is only available in some major cities," China Mobile Chairman Xi Gouhua told The Wall Street Journal.

China is the world's largest mobile phone market by subscribers, and China Mobile is the country's largest wireless carrier with 776 million subscribers. Analysts predict the addition of the iPhone to China Mobile's smartphone lineup could boost iPhone sales by 15 to 30 million units in 2014. Apple sold 51 million iPhones globally in Q1 2014https://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/27/apple-earnings-q1-2014/ and has sold 472.3 million smartphones in total as of January 2014.

Article Link: China Mobile Adds One Million iPhone Users in February

Red Oak · Mar 20, 2014

One million in a very limited city rollout. Impressive

dumastudetto · Mar 20, 2014

This is great news for all of us in the Apple community. iPhone continues to dominate around the world over all other handsets. Ignore the haters Tim, you're continuing to drive the remarkable Apple success story to even higher levels.

Bubba Satori · Mar 20, 2014

dumastudetto said:
This is great news for all of us in the Apple community. iPhone continues to dominate around the world over all other handsets. Ignore the haters Tim, you're continuing to drive the remarkable Apple success story to even higher levels.

Hi Phil.

ouimetnick · Mar 20, 2014

dumastudetto said:
This is great news for all of us in the Apple community. iPhone continues to dominate around the world over all other handsets. Ignore the haters Tim, you're continuing to drive the remarkable Apple success story to even higher levels.

Tim is that you?

AngerDanger · Mar 20, 2014

dumastudetto said:
This is great news for all of us in the Apple community. iPhone continues to dominate around the world over all other handsets. Ignore the haters Tim, you're continuing to drive the remarkable Apple success story to even higher levels.

"You know, I think you're right! I'm going to continue being CEO. Thanks!" Tim Cook

monkor · Mar 20, 2014

Kind of meh news. 1 million sold would hit the very lower estimates of expectations if you spread the growth out and assume that growth is steady. And China Mobile's stocks are taking a hit following this announcement. Still, Apple slowly taking a decent amount of the premium market in China, but until China Mobile rolls out more 4G, not many people are going to care about the iPhone. It's a completely different market in China with very different needs...

kenetic · Mar 20, 2014

Lower the price will get more people to buy the phone.

spyguy10709 · Mar 20, 2014

monkor said:
Kind of meh news. 1 million sold would hit the very lower estimates of expectations if you spread the growth out and assume that growth is steady. And China Mobile's stocks are taking a hit following this announcement. Still, Apple slowly taking a decent amount of the premium market in China, but until China Mobile rolls out more 4G, not many people are going to care about the iPhone. It's a completely different market in China with very different needs...

CM shares are in decline because of high network costs, and BECAUSE of iPhone sales. iPhone sales mean more subsidy,which means less immediate profits.

And as anyone who follows wall street can tell you - immediate profits > long term profits to 75% of investors these days.

neuropsychguy · Mar 20, 2014

kenetic said:
Lower the price will get more people to buy the phone.

Yes, but lowering the price means margins decline. Apple could end up making less money even if they sell more units. The converse could be true - Apple could make more money but margins would be hurt. Apple prioritizes having large profit margins.

TC03 · Mar 20, 2014

dumastudetto said:
This is great news for all of us in the Apple community. iPhone continues to dominate around the world over all other handsets. Ignore the haters Tim, you're continuing to drive the remarkable Apple success story to even higher levels.

Stop it, I'm not in a community. And 1 million China users does not change the user experience of my iPhone. It's great news for Apple, not for me.

bpcookson · Mar 20, 2014

kenetic said:
Lower the price will get more people to buy the phone.

But at what cost?!

CausticSoda · Mar 20, 2014

Not remotely difficult... The new middle classes here love Western brands, don't think much of Koreans and turn their noses up at Chinese products. If Apple can't shift volume here, something is seriously wrong.

Nunyabinez · Mar 20, 2014

kenetic said:
Lower the price will get more people to buy the phone.

What a clever idea! If only someone had suggested this when the original Mac was released, or when Powerbooks came out or the iMac was introduced or...

Rocketman · Mar 20, 2014

monkor said:
1 million sold would hit the very lower estimates of expectations if you spread the growth out and assume that growth is steady. And China Mobile's stocks are taking a hit following this announcement.

If the article's range of sales is correct, that represents a 30-60% worldwide sales growth of iPhone due to China alone.

As for reporting reduced profits, all the major carriers had that when they adopted iPhone since they are fronting the capital, and spreading the payments over the contract period, or selling phones at full price. They are buying the phones outright from Apple.

Rocketman

roadbloc · Mar 20, 2014

Well done Apple I guess.

dumastudetto · Mar 20, 2014

TC03 said:
Stop it, I'm not in a community. And 1 million China users does not change the user experience of my iPhone. It's great news for Apple, not for me.

MacRumors is a community and you're a member.

Apple's continued success translates to money they can invest in creating even more best of breed products in other categories. So it is good for news for all of us when Apple does well and we should celebrate it.

Smartass · Mar 20, 2014

dumastudetto said:
Apple's continued success translates to money they can invest in creating even more best of breed products in other categories.

like selling ipad 4 yet again?

roadbloc · Mar 20, 2014

dumastudetto said:
MacRumors is a community and you're a member. Apple's continued success translates to money they can invest in creating even more best of breed products in other categories. So it is good for news for all of us when Apple does well and we should celebrate it.

I disagree. I congratulate Apple for their success, but I ain't celebrating that a business that makes products that I may or may not like has more monies/market-share. Nor am I part of any 'community.' I use what I like and what suits my needs regardless of any brand or company it may be tied to.

koban4max · Mar 20, 2014

who cares about china and iPhone... what about the new iPhone?

macs4nw · Mar 20, 2014

MacRumors said:
…..China Mobile released these subscriber figures as part of its annual earnings statement, which also included the carrier's first profit decline in 14 years…..

Article Link: China Mobile Adds One Million iPhone Users in February

Perhaps this was one of the roadblocks, why China Mobile held off so long to carry the iPhone; knowing this wasn't going to have tangible benefits right away, but would have to pay off in the long run.

Maybe the bleeding of customers who wanted the iPhone, to other carriers, is what finally caused them to relent…..

2457282 · Mar 20, 2014

macs4nw said:
Perhaps this was one of the roadblocks, why China Mobile held off so long to carry the iPhone; knowing this would have to pay off in the long run.

Maybe the bleeding of customers who wanted the iPhone, to other carriers, is what finally caused them to relent..

I think as the article points out CM is late to 4G. I don't think they could have really released the iphone until they upgraded. that is why with almost 800 million users only 1 million has converted to iphone - a very limited 4G network now.

scbn · Mar 20, 2014

What's impressive to me, is this statement: "We added 1.34 million new 4G users in February and most of them are iPhone users", which means high-end users overwhelmingly chose the iPhones. As CM expands its 4G network, you'll see bigger numbers for iPhones.

jimbo1mcm · Mar 20, 2014

Cuban Missles said:
I think as the article points out CM is late to 4G. I don't think they could have really released the iphone until they upgraded. that is why with almost 800 million users only 1 million has converted to iphone - a very limited 4G network now.

If I am not mistaken, their are millions of China Mobile customers already using Iphones prior to the official release.

Rocketman · Mar 20, 2014

jimbo1mcm said:
If I am not mistaken, their are millions of China Mobile customers already using Iphones prior to the official release.

Mostly on 2G/EDGE, but yes.

China Mobile Adds One Million iPhone Users in February

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