Apple announced yesterday that it had sold over two million of its new iPhone 5 in China, just three days after its launch on December 14. Yet the news isn't that bright for several iPhone distributors in China who reported that "the sales of iPhone 5 have failed their expectations, and one of the dealers noted that the profits generated from the iPhone 5" were less than half compared to the iPhone 4S, reported the Yicai, an online Chinese business site. On the flipside, Yicai's report as presented by BrightWire, doesn't identify any of the dealers who are complaining, making their claims difficult to verify.
In the bigger picture, Apple has been working with Mobile China for years behind the scenes. Once Mobile China's first phase of their new 4G network is ready, Apple's deal may allow them to sell into one third of Mobile China's subscribers which is estimated to cover approximately 233 million subscribers. That could lead to explosive growth for Apple's iDevices in the coming years.
