Apple will soon be further tapping the incredible expanse that is the Chinese market with its iPhone 4S smartphone. China Unicom, the country’s third-largest mobile carrier, has been the sole iPhone provider in China thus far, though it’s uncertain whether the iPhone 4S will now also be taken up by other carriers in the country. Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that response for Apple’s products in China has been off the charts. China contributed to roughly 13.3 percent of Apple’s total third-quarter revenue of $28.57 billion.
In addition to China, the iPhone 4S will be made available in 26 other countries beginning Friday, January 13: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guam, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and Uganda.
Of course, Apple fans in many of these countries won’t be able to take advantage of the iPhone 4S’ personal assistant, Siri, as it currently only supports English, French and German. However, Apple has promised to include additional languages in 2012 like Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Italian.
Here is the official press release:
iPhone 4S Arrives in China on January 13
CUPERTINO, California―January 4, 2012―Apple® today announced that iPhone® 4S, the most amazing iPhone yet, will be available in China and 21 additional countries on Friday, January 13. iPhone 4S is packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. iPhone 4S comes with iOS 5, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new features.
“Customer response to our products in China has been off the charts,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With the launch in China next week, iPhone 4S will be available in over 90 countries making this our fastest iPhone rollout ever.”
Beginning Friday, January 13, iPhone 4S will be available in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, China, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guam, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and Uganda.
iPhone 4S comes in either black or white for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model, $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.* iPhone 4S is sold through the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4 is available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 3GS is available for free with a two year contract from participating carriers.
