China to Expect Apple iPhone 6 on Oct.10, 2014; Pricing Details
Black Marketers Making Hay Day
Apple will begin selling its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in China on October, 10. This information was obtained by TechWeb from a memorandum that was leaked from a Chinese retail store. The memo indicates that Oct. 10, 2014 will be the launch date of the Apple devices. Three days before the launch, the retail staff will be given training regarding the new devices.
China is the world's largest consumer market. Apple's delay in the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in this market was due to regulatory problems. However, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China's regulatory agency has stated that it was just a matter of time before the regulators complete the approval process and urged patience.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released a week ago in the U.S. and other major countries. This year China was excluded from the group of countries where the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were released last Sept. 19. According to the leaked set of document, Apple may finally start selling the devices officially on Oct. 10.
AppleInsider reported that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are to be priced at yuan 5,288 ($863) and yuan 6,288 ($1,026), respectively. However, the prices may increase as regulators are pressurising carriers to cut subsidies for phone buyers according to reports from Bloomberg.
According to the report, Chinese subsidies are paid on the basis of the length of the contract in the form of a monthly rebate applied to user's mobile service costs. Customers do not pay a huge amount when signing a contract with the carrier.
As the Apple devices were not released officially in China, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are being smuggled into the country and sold in the black market. The iPhones are fetching twice its selling price. The iPhone 6 costs around yuan 11,641 ($1,900) and the iPhone 6 Plus costs as much as yuan 19,912 ($3,250). The most popular colours are space grey and the gold that can fetch around $500 premium.