Apple’s New iPhones Get Regulatory Approval En Route To China Mobile

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Have you picked out your color, yet?
Have you picked out your color, yet?

A much-anticipated iPhone deal between Apple and China Mobile looks even closer this week after the popular smartphone gained regulatory approval to run on the carrier’s wireless network. The new partnership will see the iPhone supported by the world’s largest network for the first time, opening it up to more than 700 million subscribers.

“A Chinese regulator has given the final license necessary for Apple Inc.’s iPhone to run on China Mobile Ltd.’s mobile network,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

“The regulator also announced licenses for the iPhone on technology supported by China’s other two major carriers, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and China Telecom Corp., marking the first time in China that all three major carriers will be able to offer the iPhone on their disparate networks.”

The news comes just a day after Apple announced the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c at an event held inside its Cupertino campus, and they’ll be the first iPhones to launch in China on the same day they’re made available in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European countries.

Despite the iPhone being over six years old now, it’s never had support for China Mobile’s TD-LTE wireless network — but both the iPhone 5c and the iPhone 5s change that.

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Source: The Wall Street Journal

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