New Apple iPhones not sweet to Chinese market

Apple Inc's new iPhone devices are unlikely to stall the company's falling sales in China in the short term after many Chinese expressed disappointment with the newly unveiled products and dropped plans to buy one.

New iPhone 5Cs are displayed at a media event in an Apple Inc office in Beijing, on Sept 11, 2013. A reporter holds a new iPhone 5C at a media event in Beijing, on Sept 11, 2013. [Wei Xiaochen/Asianewsphoto]

Apple launched its long-awaited new devices iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on Tuesday in Cupertino, California, where its headquarters are located. The iPhone 5S is equipped with a faster processor, a better camera and features fingerprint scanning. The starting price for the iPhone 5S is 5,288 yuan ($858) without a contract.

The iPhone 5C, which is described as a cheaper version, retains the same basic technology as the previous iPhone 5 handsets but has a colorful polycarbonate case. The device is believed to be a major move by Apple to gain back its momentum in emerging markets such as China. However, the starting price for the iPhone 5C is 4,488 yuan, far beyond the prices of lower-end smartphones in China, which can cost as little as 1,000 yuan each.

For the first time, China has become one of the first markets to have the new iPhones. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd and China Telecom Corp Ltd said on Wednesday they are ready to ship the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on Sept 20. Chinese people can reserve a new iPhone on online and offline outlets from Wednesday.

The new iPhone handsets did not create waves in the Chinese market as people previously expected, largely because there were few surprises in the products and they are expensive, analysts said.

"Priced at 4,488 yuan for off-contract devices, Apple cannot target cost-conscious buyers in China with the iPhone 5C," Wang Jingwen, an analyst with research firm Canalys, said. She pointed out if Apple wants to be aggressive in China, it has to come up with additional announcements such as special subsidies from operators to lower the phone's upfront cost.

Wang said Apple was right for holding a Beijing event hours after the US unveiling of its latest iPhone, but the event "was small and there were not any highlights". For the first time, a small group of journalists were invited to Apple's Beijing offices on Wednesday to report the latest devices. However, Apple did not hand out any new content except for a video rebroadcast of the US event.