The Wall Street Journal reports that China Mobile has stockpiled over 1.4 million iPhone 5s handsets in preparation for the launch of the device on its network this Friday.
Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports China Mobile has taken receipt of roughly 1.4 million iPhone 5s handsets. The carrier has been taking preorders for Apple’s flagship iPhone since December and will officially launch the device this Friday.
While the source says shipping over a million iPhones to a single carrier in one month is “substantial,” it had no further information regarding demand past the January kickoff. Apple has reportedly not yet notified Foxconn with the next shipment’s numbers.
The Apple deal with China Mobile was announced in December, and the widely anticipated deal is expected to give a good sized boost to global iPhone sales numbers. For China Mobile’s part, it is looking to use the new handset to lure 3G customers to its new 4G TD-LTE network.
If the 1.4 million number is accurate, it would fall in line with analysts projections that the deal would generate a minimum of 12 million additional iPhone sales for 2014.
