How The iPhone 6 Double Backs To China Due To Uncertainty Over Official Release Date

Everyone knows the iPhone is manufactured in China. However, so far no one there knows when the Apple Store will start selling one. This is the reason the latest smartphone from Apple is actually double-backing there from across the world.

Enterprising souls in Beijing are hawking something that can’t be bought inside the Apple Store: the new iPhone 6. Although the latest iPhone has hit American shores, its birthplace, China, still doesn’t have a clue when the device will be officially made available.

Apple launched the latest iteration of their flagship, the iPhone 6, in the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, and Australia. But it hasn’t even hinted when it will release the same in mainland China, which is by far the world’s largest consumer for smartphones. Needless to say, this has created a unique albeit time-bound opportunity for black market dealers who are offering a spanking new iPhone 6 within two days. However, the price for owning a device before its official release is quite steep.

A 16GB iPhone 6 is currently being sold in upwards of 8,000 Yuan or $1,300, which is almost double its actual price in Hong Kong.

Speaking about his trade, Liu Min, one of the “sellers,” said, “It’s going to be a while before the new iPhone comes to China officially, so if you want it now, you have to pay up.”

Though Liu strictly refused to disclose his supply-chain, there are many others who have camped outside Apple Stores in China just to make good on this unique opportunity, reported Bloomberg. Quite a few are openly promising a 128GB version of iPhone within the same time span of two days, if the eager Apple fanboy is willing to fork out $2,441. This is almost three times the official asking price ($927) of the same model in nearby Hong Kong.

Market experts are confident that as many as 5 million iPhone 6s could make their way back to mainland China, as the demand for Apple’s phone is phenomenal. Moreover, consumers have impatiently waited for the device for well over three months, and will now be eager to lay their hands on the same — by any means necessary and at any cost.

Why is Apple delaying the inevitable? Apple will have to launch the latest iPhone in China sooner or later. But bureaucratic red tape has halted its sales plan. The new iPhones have cleared just two of three regulatory steps, reported the Xinhua News Agency. It still needs to secure network access licenses from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

[Image Credit | Yuya Shino / Reuters]