Beijing:
Apple's latest iPhone models, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be sold in China from October 17, with pre-orders starting on October 10, the company said as China formally granted the license for their sale after a tantalising delay leading to large-scale smuggling.
Consumers will be able to buy the models from Apple's online store, its retail stores and the company's authorised resellers, Apple announced.
With support for 4G technologies TD-LTE and FDD-LTE, the new products will allow customers access to 4G/LTE networks from China's three major carriers - China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom.
Both models come in gold, silver or gray. The iPhone 6 has a suggested retail price of 5,288 yuan
(USD 861) for the 16GB model, 6,088 yuan for the 64GB model and 6,888 yuan for the 128GB model, while the iPhone 6 Plus is priced at 6,088 yuan, 6,888 yuan and 7,788 yuan for the 16GB, 64GB and 128GB versions respectively, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The new iPhones have been an instant hit, with over 10 million sold within three days of their debut on September 19.
Earlier the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said that it has granted a network access license to iPhone 6.
The license approval came after four models of the iPhone 6 passed 3C (China Compulsory Certification) certification, a mandatory certification system to inspect and approve various products to be sold in China, and won approval from the State Radio Regulation earlier this month.
The license came after weeks of delay for the release of the phone which had resulted in largescale smuggling from Hong Kong and US even though Iphone is manufactured in China.
Chinese police have seized large stocks of smuggled iPhones in airports recently.
The MIIT said in a statement that it made the decision to issue the license after getting reassurance from Apple that three background service programmes, which reportedly had risks of personal privacy leaks, are only diagnostic tools that won't be used maliciously.
In a document submitted to the ministry, Apple said that the company won't be allowed to "interfere with" any personal information without clients' approval, and it has already taken measures in its iOS-8 system to make it even more difficult for anybody to use the tools maliciously.
Apple also said it will improve security and privacy protection for its clients.
The company said it has never and will never set up so-called "back doors" in any of its products or services in cooperation with any government organ of any country.
The MIIT said it pays great attention to protecting mobile phone users' personal information and will strengthen security management of mobile phones, the statement said.
The ministry will also enhance network access security review as well as supervision and inspection of products that are already licensed, saying any violation of regulations on personal information protection will be investigated and punished.
