Apple meets with Thai government officials after early approval of the 'iPhone 6'
It shouldn’t come as a big surprise, but Apple isn’t exactly pleased with Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.
As we reported yesterday, that country’s version of the FCC announced approval of two unreleased iPhones, model numbers A1524 and A1586, for sale in the country. The secretary general of the commission even announced the news on Twitter specifically mentioning the “iPhone 6.”
And a new report from the Thai Rath said Apple has met with the commission to discuss the issue. MacRumors posted a translation of one of the more relevant passages of the story:
Mr. Takorn said that representatives from Apple South Asia from the Singapore HQ arrived to “have a chat” with him and clarified that the 2 phone models may not use the name “iPhone 6” to market and the company want to make sure that the NBTC understands this fact. Apple in Singapore will also explain the situation to Apple in the US about this matter. Apple also reassured the NBTC that this “leak” has no effect in Apple’s plan to launch and sell the iPhone in Thailand.
That all but confirms those two models numbers belong to the next-generation iPhone instead of a simple hardware revamp of an existing device. Apple taking time to say that the phone may not be named “iPhone 6” is also very interesting.
But we won’t have much longer to speculate. Apple is apparently planning to announce the next-generation iPhone at a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 9. The company is expected to unveil a model with a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen.
The smaller handset will be available almost immediately, while the 5.5-inch version will hit the market a month later.
For other recent news today, see: Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS continue to dominate the smartphone market, The latest leaked image of the Apple ‘iPhone 6′ shows complete logic board assemblies, and Apple’s Phil Schiller joins fight against ALS, dumps a bucket of ice water over his head.
