A Beijing court has affirmed the validity of a voice recognition patent — held by China's Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co. — that Apple is accused of infringing with Siri, clearing the way for the resolution of a long-pending intellectual property case that could see the personal digital assistant muted in China.
The first phase of Apple's ambitious retail expansion in China appears to be nearing completion, with the company now advertising for available in-store positions in a number of mainland Chinese cities that do not currently boast a first-party outlet.
Apple CEO Tim Cook poured lighter fluid on the already-heated rivalry between Apple and Google during his keynote presentation at this week's Worldwide Developers Conference, calling out a recent mass defection of Chinese Android users to iOS and signaling the start of a new Asian offensive.
Chinese authorities have begun to pressure the nation's massive, state-owned wireless carriers to roll back marketing expenses by as much as $6 billion, an edict that could force cuts to handset subsidies that least one analyst believes may have an impact on sales of high-end devices like the iPhone.
Chinese consumers will spend more than $87 billion on mobile phones in 2014, a Wednesday report predicts, pushing revenues in the Asian giant's mobile market well past those in the U.S. in advance of Apple's planned Chinese retail expansion.
Apple's rumored 5.5-inch iPhone could have a sizable market to attack in China, as smartphone buyers in the world's most populous nation are taking home so-called "phablets" in droves, new data revealed Monday shows.
Chinese branded smartphones are performing well in their home country, affecting sales of worldwide leaders Apple and Samsung, but buzz is said to be growing in China among customers who are holding out hope for an iPhone with a larger display.
In most countries, when Apple releases a new iPhone model the handset quickly becomes a hot-seller as older models fall by the wayside. The opposite is true in China, according to fresh data from research firm Mixpanel.
Countering the idea that China's smartphone market is only interested in cheap phones, Umeng, the nation's largest analytics firm, has issued a report for 2013 outlining that 27 percent of China's smartphones cost over $500, and that 80 percent of those are iPhones.
Apple now has two official online sales outlets in China after opening the virtual doors to a new storefront on Tmall.com, a large online marketplace run by China's largest e-commerce website Alibaba Group.
For the second time in three months, Apple has come under fire for its decision to remove an app designed to circumvent internet censorship in the People's Republic of China.
The world's largest carrier by subscriber count, China Mobile, announced plans to launch a new brand for mobile service December 18 during its 4G Global Partners Conference. The move is expected to coincide with its launch of Apple's latest iPhone 5s and 5c models.
Apple's chief executive Tim Cook didn't mince any words in describing the company's prospects for the coming holiday quarter, nor in directing attention to Apple's contributions beyond its products.
Apple has been criticized by the developer of a Chinese app designed to bypass China's Internet censorship protocols after the company removed the title from the App Store in China because its functionality is illegal in that country.
As emerging market currencies fall against the U.S. dollar, Apple appears to have chosen not to raise its prices, possibly signaling Cupertino's intention to use the devaluations to increase market share.
The next iteration of Apple's iPhone will see release in China roughly two months after it's expected to debut in the U.S. due to government regulation, according to the latest rumors.
Investment firm UBS sees shares of Apple rising more than 10 percent in the near future based on the potential for a lower-cost iPhone to make a big splash in the Chinese smartphone market.
The second quarter of calendar 2013 saw Apple's share of sales in the Chinese tablet market drop significantly, to less than 30 percent, according to the latest data released by research firm IDC.
A new survey of smartphone buyers in China has found that the pricing "sweet spot" for Apple's rumored "iPhone 5C" is $486 — a price higher than the analyst responsible for the poll expected.
Apple is on a hiring spree in China, with more than 200 new positions now being advertised, including key personnel on the company's environmental affairs team.
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Sam Oliver
AppleInsider Staff
Neil Hughes
Mikey Campbell
Daniel Eran Dilger
Shane Cole
Kevin Bostic
