Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) latest iPhones; 5S and 5C, has witnessed more than 100,000 reservations on China Unicom, according to Bloomberg. China Unicom has not yet announced pricing of both the new phones, despite that the reservations are already swelling up.
China Unicom published the news of the number of units reserved on its official account with Sina Corp’s Weibo microblog, but the price has not yet been disclosed for September 20th iPhones launch.
Reservation and preorder
Customers can preorder iPhone 5C all over the world, but iPhone 5S is not available for pre Orders. Reservation is not same as Pre order as reservation of the phone does not require a customer to pay the money instantly but guarantees that he or she will get a phone when it is launched on September 20th. On the day, customers can go to an Apple store, in Hong Kong or China, where they will be assisted by the employees in choosing their right mobile plan, set up an email and transfer contacts.
China Unicom offering fewer subsidies this time
Subscribers of China Unicom who go for new iPhones will get a lower subsidy, this time. With a monthly plan of 289 yuan for the iPhone 5S, a subsidy of 2,890 yuan ($472) is given, which is 15 percent less than the 3,400 yuan ($555) for the iPhone 5 under the same plan, according to analyst Eva Yip.
China Telecom, on the other hand, will give away iPhone 5C and 5S when buyer makes upfront payment of 4,488 yuan ($733) and 5,288 yuan respectively. Users who will go for a two year contract will get the phone for free with a monthly plan costing 329 yuan ($53) for 5C and 389 yuan ($63) for 5S.
Largest network carrier, China mobile is not offering iPhone as of now, but there may be a deal soon between both companies.
Fewer subsidies may not be good for Apple
Apple launched iPhone 5C and iphone 5S on China Unicon and China Telecom in a quest to regain the lost share in China, which happens to be the world’s largest smartphone market. However, telecom operators may be providing fewer subsidies on both phones may not be good for Apple.
“The plan is more conservative this time,” Eva Yip, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial Ltd. “The handset subsidy as a percentage of upfront payment is less than that of the iPhone 5 plan” analyst added.
