Apple won all approvals from the regulators in China and officially announced sales of its two new flagship smartphone, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, starting Oct. 17.
Apple, one of the largest smartphone making companies, has finally convinced the Chinese government to allow it to sell the two new flagships, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the country after agreeing to enhance user security and privacy. The decision is a huge win for the Cupertino tech giant as China serves as the biggest smartphone market in the world and big screen phones remain a popular choice among the people.
In an official press release, Apple confirmed the sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will start Oct. 17, with pre-orders of the devices to begin as early as Oct. 10.
Apple started sales of the two new flagships earlier this month in 10 countries, including the U.S. Australia, Japan, U.K. and others, but did not release the phones in China. Last year, China was among the first batch of countries to get the iPhone 5S and 5C, which helped boost sales of the company's former flagships. This year, the Chinese regulators played hard to grant the much-needed approval for the sales of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the country.
Apple released the new phone in another 22 markets last week, which had no mention of the launch in China.
"We are thrilled to bring iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to our customers in China on all three carriers at launch," Apple's CEO Tim Cook, said in a press release, Tuesday. "With support for TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers will have access to high-speed mobile networks from China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom for an incredible experience."
According to Apple, the 16GB version of iPhone 6 will sell for 5,288 yuan ($860), 6,088 yuan ($990) for 64GB and 6,888 yuan ($1120) for high-end 128GB model. The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus will be available in gold, silver and space gray options. The iPhone 6 will have the same color variants with similar storage variants. The 16GB model of the iPhone 6 Plus will cost 6,088 yuan ($990), while the 64GB and 128GB will sell for 6,888 yuan ($1120) and 7,788 yuan ($1266), respectively.
The Cupertino based tech company received two of three licenses earlier this month but the launch was held off due to the last license from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. In an official press statement on MIIT's website on Tuesday, the ministry said the approval comes after Apple pledged to eliminate all risks of leaking of personal information.
As a result, Apple will enhance the security and privacy of the iOS8 running on the latest flagship smartphones and "promised it 'never established any so called backdoor with any government organizations of any countries regarding any product or service' and 'never will'," the statement read.
The iPhone 6 release in other countries except China spurred smartphone smuggling in the country. Officials confiscated hundreds of iPhones being smuggled through the air and water route. The smuggled smartphones are being sold at twice the value of the phone for consumers in China. At least the official launch of the new iPhones will put an end to the illicit activities.
