iPhone 4S Rollout Continues in China and 21 Other Countries on January 13 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

iPhone 4S Rollout Continues in China and 21 Other Countries on January 13

iphone 4s china
Apple today announced that it will be launching the iPhone 4S in 22 new countries on Friday, January 13, with China being the featured addition for this round of debuts.

“Customer response to our products in China has been off the charts,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “With the launch in China next week, iPhone 4S will be available in over 90 countries making this our fastest iPhone rollout ever.”

China Unicom has been the exclusive official iPhone carrier in China, and Apple's press release gives no indication whether the device will be expanded to new carriers there.

The full list of launch countries includes: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, China, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guam, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and Uganda.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....

Top Rated Comments

ChinaRye Avatar
192 months ago
North Korea gets screwed again!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
192 months ago
No it isn't really as it only received regulatory approval last week.

Good news is (for me) that I just picked up a 4S in Szechuan for half the price the scalpers were asking last month and cheaper than I could buy it in the UK which was was my other option when I returned there for business in a months time.

Fair enough. Have you checked out Hong Kong? They have the cheapest Apple products that i've seen anywhere! (after conversion)[COLOR="#808080"]

----------

No it isn't really as it only received regulatory approval last week.

Good news is (for me) that I just picked up a 4S in Szechuan for half the price the scalpers were asking last month and cheaper than I could buy it in the UK which was was my other option when I returned there for business in a months time.

Fair enough. Have you checked out Hong Kong? They have the cheapest Apple products that i've seen anywhere! (after conversion)

----------



I think even if it was given regulatory approval sooner it would have have been difficult to provide the numbers to satisfy demand any earlier.

And Siri works very well in UK English here :)

You speak English in China?! :D
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
192 months ago
Surprised the 4S came out so late in China considering the market...

No it isn't really as it only received regulatory approval last week.

Good news is (for me) that I just picked up a 4S in Szechuan for half the price the scalpers were asking last month and cheaper than I could buy it in the UK which was was my other option when I returned there for business in a months time.

----------

Surprised the 4S came out so late in China considering the market...

I think even if it was given regulatory approval sooner it would have have been difficult to provide the numbers to satisfy demand any earlier.

And Siri works very well in UK English here :)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
wackymacky Avatar
192 months ago
So now the Chinese can stop buying our phones in the US and shipping them to China?
Yes, just think of the carbon footprint; exporting them from China to the US, just to turn the ship around and send them back.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
192 months ago
I notice that Siri isn't mentioned in this ad... odd. Although location based services won't work, phone specific ones should. I wonder why the omission?

Siri only works in english, french and german so far plus localization stuff with siri is us only
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
192 months ago
Sorry Asian Scalpers on lines....Your Time is UP:)))) I cant wait to see your face when you see normal people walking into a China Apple Store....and not funding your scalping operation
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)