Apple Gets Approval from Chinese Regulators to Sell iPhone6 in China Since Oct. 17

Apple is going to bring iPhone6 and iPhone6 Plus to Chinese users after receiving a license for the devices to be used on China’s wireless networks. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) had approved the sale iPhone 6 in China after the U.S. smartphone maker addressed potential security risks that could cause personal data leakage, according to the MIIT announcement.

Both iPhone6 and iPhone6 Plus are offered in 16GB/64GB/128GB versions and three colors of silver, champagne and space gray. iPhone6 will be sold for 5,288 yuan (around US$860)/6,088 yuan/6,888 yuan, while iPhone6 Plus are priced at 6,088 yuan/6,888 yuan/7,788 yuan, respectively.

The products will be on sale at the retail stores of Apple and the three Chinese telecom carriers, as well as other authorized outlets since October 17. Chinese Apple fans can pre-order since October 10 online or October 14 at the physical stores.

The four iPhone6 models going to be on sale in China are:

• A1586: iPhone 6, supporting TD-LTE, FDD LTE, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000 and GSM;
• A1524: iPhone 6 Plus, supporting TD-LTE, FDD LTE, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000 and GSM;
• A1589: iPhone 6 China Mobile version, supporting TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, GSM, roaming support WCDMA and FDD LTE;
• A1593: iPhone 6 Plus China Mobile version, supporting TD-LTE, TD-SCDMA, GSM, roaming support CDMA and FDD LTE.

The Apple craze used to drive Chinese users to buy up the latest Apple products overseas and bring them to China. The huge demand in China has enabled smugglers and sellers to profit heavily off the devices, but that’s apparently not the case this time. The price of smuggled Apple smartphones began to slump even before the devices are available in China.

The price of smuggled iPhone6 dropped from around 12,000 yuan upon the release to around 6,500 yuan now, and that of iPhone6 Plus tumbled from 15,000 yuan to 8,800 yuan, according to a Tencent report.