Apple and China Mobile have not yet finalized a deal that will allow the world’s largest carrier to sell the iPhone, reports Reuters. Earlier in December, a report from The Wall Street Journal suggested that negotiations were all but complete, with the two companies on track for a release sometime around December 18, the expected date for the carrier’s 4G launch.
A China Mobile store promoting Apple products last week
While China Mobile did launch its 4G network earlier today, bringing 4G speeds to its more than 700 million customers, there has been no sign of an iPhone deal.
Xi Guohua, the chairman of the world’s largest mobile phone carrier, said on Wednesday morning that his company had no announcement to make on any deal to carry Apple’s smartphones. Xi was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Guangzhou, a southern city of China.
Multiple signs of an approaching deal between the two companies have popped up during the final months of 2013, with Apple receiving licensing needed to operate on China Mobile’s TD-LTE standard in September and releasing the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c with TD-LTE support.
Though a deal has not been struck, it is clearly in the final stages as China Mobile has been accepting iPhone pre-orders and heavily promoting both the iPad and the iPhone in stores across China.
China Mobile is expected to bring millions of new customers to Apple, significantly increasing the company's presence in China. While Apple currently has deals with smaller carriers China Unicom and China Telecom, both carriers combined have fewer subscribers than China Mobile.
Apple's stock price is currently down nearly 1.8 percent following the lack of a deal announcement.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Doing business with China is usually not a great deal.
We give them our know how and technology and they give us cheat labor. I think we get the short end of the deal.
Without the deal with China, those poor people in the US will be living in the hell, not be able to afford anything. Thank China so that 95% people in the US can afford our computers, cellphones, cloths, furniture, dishes, etc...
The headline suggests an editorial opinion. If you want to be objective, what do you think about "Apple, China Mobile Negotiations Continue for iPhone Deal"?
If any expectation of a deal was set, my understanding is that timeframe was set by a news organization -- not the parties involved.
Also, the Apple stock price dip may reflect a host of other issues besides the China Mobile deal. While there may be a correlation, there's no verifiable indication of causation. I'd recommend, "Apple's stock price is currently down nearly 1.8 percent."
To be fair, the stock recently shot up (to just over $570) partly on the news that a China Mobile deal was so close, with a date of around today given. So this is just setting it back to how it was before. However, if the deal is imminent, why go back so far? :confused: It is confusing to me too. It makes some sense, but still not really logical.
So Wall Street got excited earlier this month over a deal that was never announced and stock went up 10%?
