Apple iPhone 5 suffers lacklustre launch in China

The Chinese launch of Apple’s iPhone 5 was met with a lukewarm reception and no long queues, according to Chinese press reports.

According to Sina English, a reservation system for customers ordering the smartphones off-contract has prevented the queues seen for the iPhone 4S launch.

However, Sina English reports the new smartphone is being met with apathy from many consumers in China.

“The iPhone 5 is undeniably a good product. However, among the high-end smartphone category, it has a smaller screen and few bright spots, but has a high price,” says China Mobile Phone Alliance secretary general Wang Yanhui.

Earlier this year, China overtook the US as the world’s largest smartphone market.

Unfortunately for Apple, in the past year, the consumer electronics giant has slipped from the top five smartphone manufacturers in China, having been overtaken by competitors including Samsung, Lenovo and ZTE.

Despite ongoing negotiations, Apple is also locked out of the country’s largest mobile phone carrier, China Mobile, which boasts 703 million subscribers including 80 million on 3G.