Apple gets regulatory nod for iPhone 6 in China, but still needs one more license before sales can start

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has obtained one of the two required licenses it needs before it starts selling the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in China, according to Reuters. After an expected September 19 release was delayed, Apple still hasn’t announced an official sales date for the country.

Earlier rumors suggest the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) threw a spanner in the works by holding up the licenses. The MIIT tests all new phones before they are allowed to get on China’s mobile networks. There’s no indication when the second license might be issued.

As a result, grey market iPhones from the US and Hong Kong are selling at heavily inflated prices; some reportedly for as much as RMB 30,000 (US$4,884).

A report originating from the 21st Century Business Herald says, according to unnamed sources, the new phones won’t be officially available in China until next year. The rumor caused Apple stocks to dip.

This wouldn’t be the first time that the MIIT has slowed the iPhone’s entrance into China. Last year, the iPhone 5S and 5C got a simultaneous first-wave release in China and the US, but the China Mobile versions’ permits were slower to come. The iPhone 5’s final regulatory hurdle before going on sale three months after first wave launch was also in the hands of the MIIT. The iPhone 4S, again held up while waiting for its network license from MIIT, didn’t hit China until the January after it was announced – a four-month-long delay.

(Source: Reuters)