iPhone 6 models to go on sale in China on October 17
Apple early on Tuesday issued a press release announcing that both new iPhone 6 models will go on sale in China beginning on Friday, October 17. Pre-orders will naturally begin one week earlier on Friday, October 10.
"We are thrilled to bring iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to our customers in China on all three carriers at launch," said Apple's CEO Tim Cook. "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."
Apple's press release comes hot on the heels of a Reuters report which relayed that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus just recently received the requisite regulatory licenses.
Apple Inc's iPhone 6 can now be sold in China, after the firm received a license for the device to be used on China's wireless networks.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on its website on Tuesday that it had approved the iPhone 6 after Apple addressed potential security risks that could allow personal data to leak.
This is unquestionably good news for Apple's financial picture. While Apple clearly has no difficulty selling millions of iPhones across the globe, China still remains the company's largest and fastest growing market. Recall that Tim Cook, during an earnings conference call this past July, noted that year-over-year iPhone growth in China checked in at 26% compared to a 6% growth rate in Europe.
Additionally, consider that Apple, without China on board, still managed to sell 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models during the 3-day launch weekend. By way of contrast, the 2013 iPhone 5s and 5c launch moved 9 million units during the same 3-day period, China included. It certainly stands to reason that this year's 10 million figure could have easily been much higher had the iPhone received regulatory approval in China earlier.
