Just hours after Chinese regulators said they had approved the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple announced the new phones would go on sale in China starting Oct. 17.
“We are thrilled to bring iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to our customers in China on all three carriers at launch,” said Apple chief executive Tim Cook in a press release. “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.”
Last year, Apple made the iPhone 5s and 5c available in China on the same weekend as the U.S. for the first time. But this year, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) expressed concerns about security issues related to the new phones.
On Tuesday, the agency posted a notification on its Web site saying it had granted a license to Apple after the company responded to those security concerns, according to a report by Reuters.
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The phones will be available in China roughly a month after they went on sale in the U.S. and many other countries. Lines for the phones in the U.S. were robust, and Apple said it sold a record 10 million phones on the first weekend they were available.
It will be interesting to see how the new phones are received in China. Conventional wisdom is that Apple made the larger phones in part to appeal to Chinese buyers. However, competition in China continues to increase, with the New York Times reporting recently that the market for smuggled iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was softer than expected.
In addition, as the unrest in Hong Kong continues, Apple could be launching the phones at a difficult time. Depending on how long the protests last, and how the government responds, buying shiny new iPhones may not be a top priority for many consumers there.
