(Reuters) – Apple Inc has invited Chinese journalists to an event in Beijing on September 11, a company spokeswoman said, just hours after it is widely expected to unveil its newest iPhone models in the United States.
The event will mark the first time that the company has held near-simultaneous briefings in the United States and in China, the world’s biggest mobile phone market where Apple has been losing its star power to rivals like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
“Apple has hosted satellite events in London and Tokyo in the past,” Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu told Reuters about the upcoming Beijing event. “It will be a broadcast of what happened in California.”
Wu declined to give details on what would be announced.
News of the Beijing event fuelled speculation that Apple may announce a long-awaited deal with China Mobile Ltd, which is the world’s biggest mobile phone company by customers and the only major Chinese carrier that does not have an agreement with the U.S. tech giant.
Top executives from Apple and China Mobile met in China in late July, bolstering expectations that an agreement was near.
Some analysts, however, said Apple was likely to unveil a new product at the event and cut the months-long waiting time Chinese consumers have had for the latest iPhone.
“I think the primary purpose of the event will be for a new product launch,” said Sandy Shen, a research director with consultancy Gartner in Shanghai. “Though an announcement with China Mobile is possible … I won’t hold my breath.”
Apple slipped to seventh place in second-quarter smartphone sales in China, according to research firm Canalys. Its China revenue for its fiscal quarter ended June 29 plummeted 43 percent from the previous period and 14 percent from the same quarter last year.
Apple is expected to unveil a less-costly iPhone at an event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters on September 10. Analysts have said Apple needs a lower-priced device to drive growth in emerging markets such as China, where most consumers cannot afford its full-priced models.
(Reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Chris Gallagher)
