Tim Cook Asked About Larger iPhone at China Mobile Launch

After nearly six years of negotiations, the iPhone is finally available on China Mobile, which is the largest mobile carrier in the world with around 763 million subscribers. Apple CEO Tim Cook was on hand with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua at the carrier's headquarters store in Beijing at launch, according to Bloomberg.

BeJbFfPCQAAdEYk.jpg-largeTim Cook with China Mobile's Xi Guohua and a customer. Image via Eunice Yoon

Cook handed out autographed iPhones to the first few customers before he once again praised Apple's new cooperation with China Mobile.

“Today is just the beginning of China Mobile and Apple coming together to deliver the best experience in the world,” Cook said as a few dozen people came in to look at the iPhones on display. China Mobile said Jan. 15 it signed a multiyear agreement with Apple containing “broad potential” for future cooperation.

Cook was soon asked whether the next iPhone would launch with a bigger screen, and responded that Apple does not like talking about future projects, but that they are working on "great things" and want to keep them secret because "you will be so much happier when you see it."

China Mobile is focused on attracting premium customers for the iPhone, Canalys analyst Nicole Peng told Bloomberg, because the carrier is concerned the high subsidy on the iPhone would impact their profitability. Fellow Chinese carrier China Telecom reported a 10 percent drop in net income in the first year of offering the iPhone, largely because of the higher subsidy.

On January 15, China Mobile said that 1 million iPhones had been pre-ordered in advance of launch. Estimates of Apple's potential iPhone sales have varied from 10-30 million units, with some claiming demand is lower due to satisfaction with China's other two carriers China Telecom and China Unicom as well as waning interest in iPhone because of increased smartphone choices in the country.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...

Top Rated Comments

Nykwil Avatar
154 months ago
A room full of iPhones and yet the one photo that counts, taken with a potato.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
154 months ago
This year there will be a 5-5.5" iPad with LTE. Unlike other iPads, it will have an earpiece and a vibrate motor.

Like other iPads, out of the box it will not be able to make cellular audio calls or send SMS. This enables Apple to offer it at a much lower price than the iPhone because:
- Apple won't have to pay the carriers the high margins they demand
[SHORTENED]
Yes! Another analyst! :p
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
154 months ago
I have no desire to use Android, however, I do like the form factor of the Galaxy series phones, S3, S4, and would like to see the iPhone 6 get that sort of size.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jkkool Avatar
154 months ago
This year there will be a 5-5.5" iPad with LTE. Unlike other iPads, it will have an earpiece and a vibrate motor.

Like other iPads, out of the box it will not be able to make cellular audio calls or send SMS. This enables Apple to offer it at a much lower price than the iPhone because:
- Apple won't have to pay the carriers the high margins they demand
- Apple won't to pay Qualcomm for the voice features to be enabled on their chipset, which makes it cheaper to produce.
(See the difference between the iPad and iPhone for the scale of these costs)

Even if it cost as much as the iPad mini 7.9" (which it won't), it's half the price of an iPhone. iPads are available in much wider distribution channels than iPhones, and they are not locked to a carrier.

FaceTime Audio and iMessage are Apple's solution to phone calls and SMS. And their are plenty of solutions in the App Store that give you a regular phone number and SMS.

Even carriers don't see a future for traditional voice - it isn't part of the LTE standard as there are a plethora of existing VoIP standards - almost all of which work today as apps on iOS! Carriers have been terrified of this impending moment - they become a "dumb pipe" - truly commoditized.

The new iPad's 1356 x 1024 resolution is exactly half the new 12.9" iPad Pro (2712 x 2048) Only one new layout is required to support both the iPad Pro and iPad 5"

Legacy iPad and iPhone Apps Run Letterboxed with minimal border:
iPad Non-retina = 1024 x 768 = 166 pix top and bottom
iPhone 4” retina = 1136 x 640 = 110 pix top and bottom

The new iPad isn't the solution for everyone yet, but its amazing price (16GB ~US$399) for something that isn't last year's model, sold through retail channels, not carriers, and larger screen will drive phenomenal sales.

In less than 4 years the iPhone and iPod touch will be discontinued. The iPad 4" LTE will replace the iPhone. The iPad 4" WiFi will replace the iPod touch.

iPad is what Steve Jobs intended the iPhone to be named in the first place.

We weren't really ready for that as they had to be named relative to things we already knew - a phone (iPhone) and and iPod (iPod touch).

who are you? :confused:
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghost187 Avatar
154 months ago
I feel like my life will be complete when Apple offers a 5 inch iPhone.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nepalisherpa Avatar
154 months ago
I'm ready to be [s]happy[/s] happier!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)