A couple weeks ago we told you how MIIT, the government body that issues Apple devices the permit allowing them to access the internet mobile networks, hadn’t even seen the iPhone 4S yet. Now, if rumors are to be believed, it seems the device has not only arrived at MIIT but has already been approved. If true, that would mean the 4S is pretty close to arriving on the Chinese market.
According to the rumors, MIIT has yet to actually issue the network access permit for the device, and that process could take one to two weeks, but the phone has apparently already passed the department’s tests. If issued the permit, the phone will have cleared its last major regulatory hurdle and will be ready to go on sale in China. Does this mean we’ll see a December launch of the iPhone 4S in China? It might. Then again, as yet this is just a rumor, so who knows!
Still, will anyone care? There are a bunch of reasons why Chinese users specifically shouldn’t get excited about the 4S, and net users were indeed pretty disappointed with the announcement. Even retailers may not be excited about the new phone, as it appears Chinese iPhone vendors — meaning the companies that make the phones for Apple — make a meager 1.8 percent profit from selling the device.
Somehow, despite all that, we expect the device will sell like hotcakes, with the usual huge lines and angry scalpers shouting that tends to accompany Apple product launches in China. When the inevitable launch comes, we’ll be on hand to report it, and maybe we’ll even get some video for you of the crowds fighting at the Apple store!
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