Apple's sales in China could be poised for sharper growth this year after the technology giant unveiled new features for Chinese users in the updated versions of its desktop and mobile operating systems.
The announcement in San Francisco on Monday came more than three months after Apple chief executive Tim Cook quietly held several meetings in Beijing with key officials and partners that prompted speculation about the company's new investments and alliances.
China is Apple's second-biggest market after the United States.
'Apple's focus on innovating uniquely for China is going to serve them well and build trust with Chinese consumers,' Ben Bajarin, from US technology consultancy Creative Strategies, said. 'I fully expect Apple to continue growing sales in China.'
Apple unveiled the features yesterday as it introduced its next generation of MacBook laptop personal computers at the start of its annual five-day Worldwide Developer Conference. The event included highlights of new features in its OS X desktop operating system and iOS, the mobile platform that powers the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice-president of worldwide marketing, said OS X Mountain Lion - the ninth major release of the Mac operating system - included 'significantly improved text input, a new Chinese dictionary, easy set-up with popular e-mail providers, Baidu search in Safari, and built-in sharing to [microblogging service] Sina Weibo', as well as video websites Youku and Tudou.
Mountain Lion will be available next month on Apple's online store.