Apple’s newest iPhone 6 may not sell in China for a quite a while, according to reports that claim Apple has not come to an agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The information was revealed by a Chinese business paper called “21st Century Herald”.
The company’s long-awaited iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are going to be available on September 19 in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Germany, France, Hong Kong, and Japan.
However, if the reports that have been circulating are true then it is bad news for Apple. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, has expressed his intention to expand the company’s presence in the Chinese market – which is thought to be bigger than the US market for Apple down the road.
It is not the first time that Apple has experienced problems with the Chinese government. In fact, there were allegations by the Chinese media that Apple’s iCloud and “Find my iPhone” services were being used to spy on Chinese citizens.
China Mobile will focus on affordable fourth generations phones
China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier with over 794 million subscribers, has said that it will be focusing on selling cheaper handsets that don’t require subsidies, as it does not know when the iPhone 6 will be available in the country.
China Mobile has expressed its intentions to offer cheap unsubsidized phones, for under 600 yuan ($98), that can use fourth-generation networks.
It will be cutting $2 billion from subsidies that is uses to allow Chinese citizens to pay for high-end and expensive smartphones, such as the ones developed by Samsung and Apple.
Chairman Xi Guohua said:
“The direction of our development is to completely focus on the mass market.”
“We have 4G devices selling for 1,000 yuan. I believe, subsidy or no subsidy, discount or no discount, the common person will be able to appreciate this.”