iPhone 5 Release Date: ChinaMobile Waiting for TD-LTE iPhone 5
ChinaMobile has 10 million iPhone users on its network with unlocked phones and no contract, according to Reuters.
Rumors surfaced earlier this year that Apple was planning to release a TD-LTE version of the iPhone 4S that would be compatible on ChinaMobile’s network; therefore, ChinaMobile users will be able to use standard iPhones with a contract.
“We have not yet got agreement with Apple,” said Wang Jianzhou, Chairperson of Chinamobile, to Reuters. “Apple promised to provide, when they develop the iPhone for LTE, that it will include TD-LTE. We are discussing the details.”
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Jianzhou’s statements confirm that Apple is developing a TD-LTE version of the iPhone.
“ChinaMobile and Apple hope to find a solution for close collaboration. We discussed this issue with Apple. We hope Apple will produce a new iPhone with TD-LTE. We have already got a positive answer from Apple,” wrote ChinaMobile in a statement.
The “positive answer” is most likely the iPhone 5, which will solve ChinaMobile’s issues with not having the iPhone available for its customers.
The iPhone 5 is expected to connect to TD-LTE networks, making it the first 4G Apple smartphone. The smartphone is also rumored to include an A6 quad-core processor manufactured by Samsung.
The T-Mobile was also rumored to receive the next iPhone, but when it came time for the 4S to be released, Apple announced that AT&T, Verizon and Sprint would be the only carriers.
Some analysts have predicted that Apple is waiting for the technology to be perfected before releasing a TD-LTE version of the iPhone.
