December 5, 2013 - 15:01 AMT
Apple inks landmark iPhone deal with China Mobile: report

Apple has reportedly struck a deal with the world's biggest network provider in China, giving the iPhone maker access to several million potential customers.

As Digital Spy reveals citing The Wall Street Journal, China Mobile plans to introduce the iPhone on December 18 alongside its new 4G network.

The deal will give Apple a stronger chance at penetrating the lucrative Chinese market, where it currently lags behind competitors such as Samsung.

Some 700 million customers subscribe to China Mobile - around seven times as large as the US's largest mobile carrier Verizon Wireless.

The iPhone 5S and 5C are already available through other Chinese networks China Unicom and China Telecom, but their smaller customer base has been unable to boost Apple's market share dramatically in the region.

China Mobile is also more dominant in smaller towns and cities, which will be crucial in helping Apple across the country.

Shipments of the latest iOS smartphones were reportedly being prepared as early as September.

Research firm Trefis claims that a deal with China Mobile could enable Apple to sell around 1.5 million iPhones per month, giving the company almost 20 million additional iPhone activations in 2014. This would push iPhone unit sales up by 17% compared to the last fiscal year.