Apple's Tim Cook visits China to talk market growth and cheaper iPhone

Reports say that Apple's CEO has recently been to China to try and boost market growth in the country

A proported "iPhone 5C" case that appeared on Amazon earlier this week.

A proported "iPhone 5C" case that appeared on Amazon earlier this week.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently visited China to talk with local carriers, with the topic of conversation expected to have been market growth and the rumoured low-cost iPhone, dubbed iPhone Lite or iPhone 5C.

This week, tech.ifeng.com cites sources familiar with Cook's meeting who say that Cook met with China Telecoms senior leadership during his trip to discuss a "new generation iPhone".

While the report notes that it's not clear whether the discussion between the two companies has resulted in a deal of any kind, the alleged secret meeting is rumoured to have revolved around the highly anticipated low-cost iPhone.

Following tech.ifeng.com's report, China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua has confirmed to Reuters that he met with Cook on Tuesday, but he did not provide any details about the purpose of the meeting. The Wall Street Journal has also confirmed the meeting.

During its most recent quarterly conference call, Apple announced a decline in growth in the Chinese market, so it's thought that the meetings in China aim to improve growth there in the next quarter. A deal with China Mobile could be key to growth in the market, because the carrier has more than 700 million subscribers that could potentially become iPhone owners.

Reports of Cook's visit to China come as Apple manufacturing partner Pegatron has been accused of labour volitions in three of its factories by the China Labor Watch. Apple has said that it will investigate the claims, and has issued a response to the abuses report.

The cheaper iPhone has reportedly been "confirmed" within the labour abuse report.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.

Tags iPadsmartphonestabletsAppleiPhonehardware systemsconsumer electronicschina mobilewall street journalReutersChina TelecomThe Wall Street Journal

Keep up with the latest tech news, reviews and previews by subscribing to the Good Gear Guide newsletter.

Ashleigh Allsopp

Macworld U.K.
Show Comments

Most Popular Reviews

Latest Articles

Resources

PCW Evaluation Team

Cate Bacon

Aruba Instant On AP11D

The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.

Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti

Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.

Tom Pope

Dynabook Portégé X30L-G

Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.

Tom Sellers

MSI P65

This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.

Lolita Wang

MSI GT76

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.

Featured Content

Product Launch Showcase

Don’t have an account? Sign up here

Don't have an account? Sign up now

Forgot password?