![CHINA-APPLE-US-TELECOMMUNICATION CHINA-APPLE-US-TELECOMMUNICATION](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/iphone-china.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Apple’s iPhone 6 will soon arrive on China’s shores. The company’s latest flagship device, along with its bigger cousin the iPhone 6 Plus, will go on sale in China on Oct. 17, while pre-orders will begin on Oct. 10.
For Apple, China has become a critical market that now comprises 16% of the company’s overall sales. The iPhone 6 launch had reportedly been delayed there because China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was slow to approve the new device. Regulators said as much in a statement on Tuesday, noting that Apple had to address security concerns related to third party access to user data before the device could be sold in China.
Apple has previously been forced to deal with concerns over iPhone security in China. Over the summer, a Chinese state-backed TV station issued a news report calling the iPhone a “national security concern” because of its location-tracking features. Apple issued a swift response pointing out that it doesn’t have access to that location data. CEO Tim Cook has since stressed Apple’s commitment to security in another statement, saying that the company had never allowed a government agency access to its servers. U.S. tech companies have been facing a chilly reception from foreign regulators since Edward Snowden’s revelations of mass government surveillance by the National Security Agency.
Even with security concerns assuaged, Apple faces challenges in China. A new crop of domestic phone manufacturers like Xiaomi now offer smartphones with robust feature sets at a fraction of the iPhone’s cost. Indeed, Apple is not even one of the top five phone makers in the country — but analysts say the jumbo-sized iPhone 6 Plus will appeal to Chinese users’ tastes and could be a big hit there.
See the World Await and Celebrate Apple's iPhone 6
![Britain Apple iPhone People pass time as they wait outside an Apple store for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in London on Sept. 17, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release1.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![People wait for the release of Apple's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in front of the Apple Store at Tokyo's Ginza shopping district People wait for the release of Apple's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in front of the Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release2.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![BRITAIN-US-IT-APPLE-IPHONE A man sleeps in a tent in the queue outside an Apple store in London on Sept. 18, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release3.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A man wearing a replica of an iPhone 6 Plus model on his head yawns while waiting for the release of Apple's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in Tokyo A man wearing a replica of an iPhone 6 Plus model on his head yawns while waiting in front of the Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release4.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![BRITAIN-US-IT-APPLE-IPHONE A woman sleeps in a chair as she waits in queue outside the Apple store in London on Sept. 18, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release5.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A staff of Apple store removes a display poster of iPhone 5S as they prepare for Apple's new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sale at Tokyo's Omotesando shopping district A staff member removes a display poster of iPhone 5S at the Apple store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014,.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release6.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![HONG KONG-US-APPLE-TECHNOLOGY-SMARTPHONES-RETAIL Customers queue outside an Apple store in Hong Kong on Sept. 19, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release7.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Japan Apple iPhone Ken Miyauchi Vice President of Softbank, Japanese mobile phone company and actress Sayaka Kanda, in a pink dress, react during a ceremony to mark the first day of sales of the latest iPhone 6 and 6 Plus at a store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release9.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus go on sale in USA Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus go on sale in USA](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release10.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Apple iPhone 6/6 Plus Launch in Japan Apple store staff high five customers as they enter the store in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release11.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A man wearing a mask depicting Steve Jobs holds up a cardboard cut-out of Apple's new iPhone 6, as he walks into the Apple Store in Tokyo A man wearingaA man wearing a mask depicting Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs holds up a cardboard cut-out of Apple's new iPhone 6, as he walks into the Apple Store in Tokyo on Sept. 18, 2014. a mask depicting Steve Jobs holds up a cardboard cut-out of Apple's new iPhone 6, as he walks into the Apple Store in Tokyo](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release13.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![iPhone 6 Andreas Gibson celebrates as he exits the Apple store after being the first to purchase an iPhone 6 Plus on Sept. 19, 2014 in New York.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release14.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Launch Of The iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus Jamael Ahmed jumps in the air as he leaves the store after being the first to purchase the iPhone 6 at Apple Covent Gardens in London on Sept. 19, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/apple-iphone-6-release15.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
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