iPhone 4S starts countdown for three operators in the Mainland to compete again

There may soon be an answer for when the iPhone 4S can enter the Chinese mainland market. The three mainland operators who can successfully obtain the iPhone 4S introduction right, and who can introduce the market opportunity at the first time, there are still many variables.

Yu Yingtao, general manager of China Unicom's sales department, revealed to reporters earlier this month: “Before the Spring Festival, consumers in the Mainland can purchase Unicom’s iPhone 4S.”

At the same time, the market news that the telecommunications version of the iPhone4S will be available for sale in February next year. And China Mobile is stepping up and lobbying Apple to support its TD-SCDMA standard. It seems that every operator is not willing to dominate the iPhone4S market.

The mainland listing of the iPhone4S will inevitably become a hot topic in the new round of provoking competition among operators. In the battle for new users among the three major operators, it is worth paying attention to whether the role of the iPhone4S can continue or surpass the iPhone4.

Operator dispute

The expressions of “4S” are different from each other. Since the release of the iPhone 4S, the three operators in the Mainland have been able to successfully acquire the right to introduce, and who will be able to introduce and seize market opportunities for the first time. There has been no conclusion yet.

China Unicom: Aspirations will this month, a device model A1431 WCDMA Apple's latest mobile phone iPhone4S has passed the network testing of the Ministry of Industry and telecommunications equipment certification center, so that the market is excited. With the aforesaid paper certification permit, the Mainland introduction plan has also officially entered the countdown.

China Unicom, which successfully won the iPhone in the introduction of previous generations of mobile phones, is currently winning a lot. Recently, Yu Yingtao has publicly stated that "China Unicom has made all preparations for the sale of the iPhone 4S." However, due to concerns about the iPhone 4S's impact on the iPhone 4, Apple has yet to announce sales plans.

"After the iPhone 4S enters, the iPhone 4's price reduction will further increase, but sales will not be as strong as the iPhone 4. Although the iPhone 4S has been partially upgraded in terms of functionality, there has been no overall breakthrough." Executive Vice President and Secretary of the China Mobile Internet Industry Alliance Li Yi said.

China Telecom: Plan to finalize the high-profile position in China Unicom, China Telecom has spared no effort in the introduction of iPhone4S. Telecommunications has said, "Telecom will definitely introduce the iPhone4S, but for now, the timing of the introduction has not yet been determined." "China Telecom has been actively negotiating with Apple to introduce the iPhone4S issues, because the iPhone4S supports both GSM and CDMA networks, so it can be China Telecom operates in the CDMA network. "It is more said that the mainland or the iPhone4S mobile phone will be launched in February next year."

China Mobile: Still fighting for Unicom and Telecom among the three major operators, China Mobile is likely to encounter problems once again on the way to introducing Apple's mobile phones. It is reported that China Mobile has repeatedly lobbied Apple to support its TD-SCDMA standard system or face the danger of re-failure.

China Mobile has always hoped to strengthen cooperation with Apple. After the Unicom version of the iPhone 4 was launched in September last year, the iPhone 4 body design required the use of a micro SIM card. China Mobile launched the iPhone4 dedicated small card, but encountered opponents rebound.

Wang Jianzhou, chairman of China Mobile, once said that the issue of cooperation with Apple is because of TD-SCDMA standard, but Apple seems to have not yet resolved. Obviously, China Mobile will not easily let go of this business.

Market analysis

Who is the winner of the iPhone frenzy?

According to the statistics released by the survey agency NPD in the US: In 2011, sales of Apple’s iPhone 4 still ranked first in the single smartphone sales of the world, and iPhone 4S ranked second, followed by iPhone 3GS.

Mysterious users

On the other hand, for the three operators whose domestic sales have been regarded as highly confidential, the iPhone has not had an accurate public figure for its annual sales.

Earlier, some media have quoted the figures disclosed by Wang Jianzhou, chairman of China Mobile. "In the three months from May to July 2011, the number of iPhone users of the China Mobile version reached 5.6 million, 6.42 million, and 7.44 million, respectively." Unicom version of iPhone sales has been quite confidential. Chang Xiaobing, chairman of China Unicom, just commented on the sales of the Unicom iPhone. “The number of iPhones sold by Unicom has become the second largest market except the United States.” Li Yi disclosed in an interview with the “Daily Economic News”. : "Since the Unicom version of the iPhone 4 has been sold so far, it will be around four or five million units, while telecommunications will be within one million units."

Demand is still huge

One of the upcoming iPhone 4S sales methods will also adopt the previously contracted model of domestic carrier package subsidies. In the sales of the iPhone 4 (16GB and 32GB versions), the initial subsidy mode of China Unicom's version is "According to the selected package, pre-stored corresponding calls, the maximum can enjoy a very competitive '0 yuan purchase' mode. ”

On April 14 this year, China Unicom announced the "bare metal sales" program. Also open is Apple's official website sales channels. Apple, which has always been strong, has also opened its official website sales platform this year after entering Chinese sales for a period of time. It has played "the purchase of iPhones without contracts and enjoys free delivery services." The competition has a strong smell of fire.

According to the Analysys International report, “The iPhone in China grew by 3.5% in the second quarter of the second quarter. The sales growth of the licensed iPhone has slowed down. However, with the introduction of a new generation iPhone into China, the iPhone market will once again be active.”

Reporter observation

The "transition machine" iPhone4S released at the beginning of the consumer shouted and disappointed, saying "I did not wait for iPhone5, just wait for the iPhone4S."

An industry insider who has approached Apple told reporters that although the iPhone 4S has undergone a full upgrade compared to the iPhone 4, it is generally defined as the iPhone 4S positioning device for the Apple iPhone series "transition machine." Before the unrecovered iPhone 4 sales were unabated, there was a strong market expectation of the iPhone5 (or iPhone's next-generation product). Analysts believe that "consumers choose to replace the iPhone 4, and delay the wait for the iPhone 5, choose to buy this 'transition' ratio may not be very high."

Not only that, the situation in which the three major operators contending for the agent cooperation machine caused by the iPhone 4 may also be “abated”. Since the beginning of last year, the three major operators in China have significantly increased support for high-end smart phones other than Apple while promoting the iPhone4. Only Motorola, HTC, and other Android-based mobile phone operator customization machines have challenged Apple's status as a river or lake.

The intention of operators to reduce their dependence on Apple's iPhone is increasingly evident. Some foreign media quoted commentators as saying: “Over the past two years, Apple’s share of the fast-growing smartphone market has increased dramatically. However, due to Apple’s single model, high price, and failure to cooperate with China Mobile, its market share is positive. Overtaken by its competitors."

The data shows that China has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest smartphone market. In the face of a huge market temptation, Apple has repeatedly placed the Chinese market's product release beyond the first few batches. The question of despising the Chinese market has not been broken. At the same time, the price of Apple's same model in North America is lower than that in mainland China. Repeatedly criticized. It is unreliable to expect the iPhone 4S to change the current status of this mechanism, but Apple’s subsequent Chinese strategy is particularly critical.

Three major telecom operators introduce iPhone4S progress

China Unicom: Mainland consumers can purchase China Unicom's iPhone 4S before the Spring Festival

China Telecom: Or will be launched in February next year, the iPhone4S mobile phone system China Mobile: more and more lobbying Apple to support its TD-SCDMA standard format