Apple Could Sell 35 Million iPhones in China by 2013

[Maura]

AppleInsider writes today that analyst Chris Whitmore of Deutsche Bank has said that Apple has “enormous” potential to grow iPhone sales in China, and that the iPhone is “just getting started” in that country. Whitmore forecasts that Apple will sell 25 million iPhones in China this year alone, and that by 2013 it will have sold 35 million units. He goes on to say that Apple’s two partners in China—China Telecom and China Unicom—will have around 300 million 3G subscribers by the end of 2013. Furthermore, he says that should Apple also gain China Mobile as a partner carrier, as has been widely predicted, Apple’s market for the iPhone in China would increase by around 125 million 3G subscribers by the end of 2013, making Apple’s potential customers in China around 425 million. According to Whitmore, Apple sold between 6 and 6.5 million iPhones in the first quarter of this year, which is 15% of its current available market in the country, but he expects that momentum to fall off slightly in China over the next few months.

Source: AppleInsider