Apple to ship cheap iPhone to China Mobile, report says

Apple may have struck a deal with China’s largest mobile carrier, a move that could help the company finally gain a foothold in the promising market.

The Cupertino, Calif., tech giant is getting ready to ship low-cost iPhone models to China Mobile, according to the Wall Street Journal. The shipment supposedly consists of iPhone 5C units, a low-cost model of Apple’s popular smartphone that is expected to be revealed Tuesday.

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If Apple has struck a deal with China Mobile, then the tech giant can now potentially sell its device to the Chinese carrier’s 700 million subscribers.

This would be a boost for Apple, which has struggled to compete in China. There, Apple’s sales figures lag behind many of its competitors, including some Chinese companies such as Lenovo and Huawei.

The cheaper iPhone 5C model is key to the deal as Chinese consumers have been reluctant to pay premium price for Apple’s high-end iPhones. The iPhone 5 in China costs 5,000 yuan, which is about $815, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It’s unclear how much cheaper the iPhone 5C will be, but it should be more affordable than the iPhone 5S, the expected successor to the iPhone 5.

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