The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) in China said in a statement that four iPhone 6 models successfully passed the so-called 3C certification (China Compulsory Certification). These models, A1524, A1586, A1589 and A1593, also won approval from China's State Radio Regulation.
The 3C certification is similar to the CE system that is implemented in Europe. It is a mandatory certification system which is tasked to inspect and approve several types of product that are sold in the market of mainland China.
The MIIT, on the other hand, tries out new phones before they are allowed to be distributed by the country's mobile networks. Last year, the ministry also controlled the sale of the iPhone 5s. It took the phone three months after it was launched to finally land on the Chinese store shelves. The same thing happened with the iPhone 4S when it had to wait for a network license from MIIT. Apparently, it went on a four-month-delay and finally hit China in January.
Apple originally planned to release the latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices on September 19. Major Chinese mobile carriers already accepted pre-orders of the next generation iPhones. When the anticipated release was reported that it will be delayed, a huge number of Apple fans in China, including the people from the company's China office, have shown disappointment. Some have even accused Apple of constantly being delayed in releasing their new devices to the territory even though Apple repeatedly claims that it considers China as one of its biggest and therefore most important markets.
As a result of the delayed release, grey market iPhones from Hong Kong and the U.S. are selling the devices at ridiculously inflated prices. Some of the devices were reported to have carried the price tag of $4,884.
At this point, Apple still needs to get a critical network access license for the new iPhone. On the official site of Apple China, it says that the iPhone6 models A1524 and A1586 are global versions. The other models, A1593 and A1589 are designed to feature the 4G network which will make the devices exclusively distributed by China Mobile, the largest telecom carrier in China.
Apple began its partnership with the carrier last year. In January, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that he felt incredibly optimistic with the partnership and believed that it would enable the company to sell the iPhone devices in 3,000 added locations. Moreover, Apple would be able to advertise its products to more than 760 million customers.
There's no word yet on when the new iPhone will be granted with a full license.
