AppAdvice International: China's 'iPhone 6' preorders, a new store in Wuxi

by Joe White

July 29, 2014

Online sellers

This week, we heard that in China, online sellers are offering customers the chance to preorder Apple’s “iPhone 6” months before the handset is due to be announced.

In a recent article, we explained: “More than 30 sellers are offering preorders on the yet-to-be-announced device on Taobao, the popular Chinese online shopping website operated by Alibaba.” The sellers claim that they’ll be able to get hold of “iPhone 6” handsets from the United States and Hong Kong provided customers pay a deposit.

These range from ¥500 ($80) to ¥7,999 ($1,288). Our report continued:

According to one of the sellers, Apple will launch the iPhone 6, which is rumored to come in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models, around Sept. 20. The seller adds that the official prices in China for the smaller version and the larger version will be ¥5,288 ($851) and ¥5,988 ($964), respectively.

China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier, started offering customers Apple’s iPhone back in January after several years of negotiations. Cupertino’s larger “iPhone 6” device is expected to be of greater interest to the Chinese market, however, which has long called for a bigger device from Apple.

New Wuxi, China store

Also this week, and in more China-related news, Cupertino announced online that it’s planning on opening a new retail store in Wuxi, China in early August.

Specifically, the Wuxi store will hold its Grand Opening on Saturday, Aug. 2, at 10 a.m. local time; as we explained in our original article, the venue is located at Center 66, the largest shopping mall in Wuxi.

This will mark the 12th Apple Retail Store in China, and the Wuxi store’s launch forms part of Cupertino’s sustained retail expansion in the east. Another store in Chongqing, China opened its doors to the general public on Saturday, July 26.