China May Have to Wait for the iPhone 4S After All

A model-number mixup

Since the announcement of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) newest phone, there has been speculation as to when, exactly, it will see the light of day in China. Previously, we reported that we expected to see the device on the market fairly soon since China Unicom has said they’re ready to sell it and reports indicated the device had already cleared the required MIIT regulatory hurdles.

Unfortunately for 4s fans, it turns out the original report suggesting the iPhone 4s had already been approved by MIIT was inaccurate, a case of mistaken identity. According to a Sina Tech report today, the phone MIIT has cleared is actually the 8GB model of the iPhone 4, not the iPhone 4s. The confusion stemmed over model numbers; apparently, MIIT approved an Apple phone with previously-unseen model number A1431 for use on Chinese networks, and people assumed it must be the new iPhone 4s. Today, a netizen realized that A1431 is actually the model number for (new to China) 8 GB iPhone 4. Damn.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the 4s hasn’t been approved by MIIT, or that it isn’t about to hit the market. It just means we’re back to where we started: we just don’t know.

[Via Techweb]