Just one day after Apple sent out invitations to aSeptember 10 media eventto take place at its Cupertino, California headquarters, the company has apparently sent out invites to a separate event to be held in China a day later.
The event will take place at Beijing’s World Trade Center, and notably, the invitation looks exactly like the one sent out yesterday, albeit the Chinese text. So why would would Apple want to hold a separate iPhone event in China?
There’s actually several possible reasons. First off, the company has acknowledged that China is a major area of growth for them. It’s the largest market for smartphones and tablets, and it has 3 of the world’s top 10 wireless carriers.
Tim Cook himself has declared the need for Apple to up its presence in the country—a stance further evidenced by hisrecent trip to Beijing. In fact, Cook has been spotted in various parts of Chinaat least 3 timeswithin the last 2 years.
But that’s not due to the lack of trying, as the two companies have met on a number of occasions over the past few years. Recent talks, however, have seemedmuch more successful, so it’s possible that the firms have finally struck a deal.
Finally, the reason could simply have something to do withthe iPhone 5C. Seeing as how a majority of China’s wireless customers are prepaid, the announcement of a new colorful $300ish handset could certainly be worth its own event in the country.
Or perhaps it’s a combination of all three. Either way, it’s an interesting move—one that I don’t recall Apple making in recent years. So I’m looking forward to seeing what the company has in store, forbothevents. Next week can’t come soon enough.
According to Chinese outletSena Tech, the Beijing event will kick off at 10am CST on September 11.
