China Mobile to pare smartphone subsidies soon

China Mobile Ltd, the world's largest carrier, is taking steps to eliminate $2 billion in smartphone subsidies by revising the packages available for devices sold at its flagship store in Beijing.

The change means costs will double for a customer buying Apple Inc's iPhone 5s with 16 gigabytes of storage and using the carrier's most expensive data plan, based on materials distributed at the store in China Mobile corporate headquarters.

The new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are not approved for official sale in China yet.