Apple may finally have struck a deal to sell iPhones through China Mobile, the world's largest carrier by subscribers.
The Wall Street Journal reports hearing from sources that Apple is "preparing" to ship its lower-cost iPhone — rumored to be called the iPhone 5C — to China Mobile, a carrier with more than 700 million subscribers.
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The two companies have been rumored to be in talks for years, with previous reports suggesting that any partnership had been held up by compatibility issues and by demands for China Mobile to get a better deal than Apple offers other carrier partners.
The Journal stopped short of stating that a deal between the two had been finalized, but suggested that Apple's decision to ship iPhones to the carrier is an indication that a deal is "in place."
Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Rumors of a deal between the two companies heated up earlier this week when multiple Chinese outlets reported that Apple would hold a separate press event in China on Sept. 11, just hours after Apple's big event in California when it is expected to unveil the latest iPhones.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously said that he expected China to eventually become Apple's largest market. However, Apple has slipped in smartphone market share in the country in part because the iPhone is not available on the dominant carrier and because the device is significantly more expensive than the competition. Offering a lower-cost model on China Mobile would solve both those issues and potentially help Apple to significantly grow its global user base.
Apple's stock was up by about 0.5% in after hours trading following the report.
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