Apple Inc. (AAPL), China Mobile Deal Expected Next Year: Analyst

In short, it appears that even though China Mobile’s CEO Li Yue has stated that “the business model and benefit sharing still need further discussion,” and we’ve heard rumors that the company wants a cut of Apple’s iTunes sales, the mobile carrier may need Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) more than most originally thought.

While most armchair analysts focus on the total quantity of subscribers in China Mobile’s user base, it’s worth mentioning that just a fraction of these are on 3G. Interestingly, both China Unicom and China Telecom “saw their 3G subscribers double year over year in November” (via Apple Insider) on the toes of the iPhone 5 launch, so it’s likely that a similar deal would boost China Mobile’s footprint in this arena as well.

One thing that remains to be seen, though, is if Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would elect to release its iPhone 5 via a China Mobile launch, or if it would instead opt to use a newer model, like the iPhone 5S or a low-cost iPhone (see full details here).

Let us know your predictions of a China Mobile-Apple deal in the comments section below, and for more Apple Inc. (NADSAQ:AAPL) coverage, continue reading here on Insider Monkey:

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