Bloomberg:

“The narrative has been focused on the consumer demand, and the narrative needs to shift to the operator,” said Dediu, a former in-house analyst for Nokia Oyj. “Apple has run out of the kinds of operators that will say yes to them.”

The article mentions China Mobile as a prominent holdout. The latest grist in the rumor mill is that the next revision of the iPhone will work on China Mobile’s network.

Regardless, Apple has huge market opportunities if it can better cater to local markets, which may require engineering a less expensive device or working differently with carriers than it has been. The question is, will Apple take that opportunity?