China Falls Off iPhone 6 Launch Map
Now that Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) unveiling of its new iPhone 6 is finally in the past, we can finally sit back and take a look at the specifics of the company’s launch plan for China. The only problem is that there isn’t any such plan yet, even though China is now one of Apple’s largest global markets. Instead, there seems to be lots of confusion about when the newest iPhone will officially go on sale on the Chinese mainland.
I can partly sympathize with Apple, as I’m nearly certain the latest confusion is the result of Chinese bureaucracy that’s impossible to control. But at the same time, this kind of sloppy move will only further undermine Apple’s reputation, which is already under regular attack by central Chinese media that are constantly looking for new ways to find fault with this trendy but secretive company.
I was quite happy to see the iPhone 6 announcement finally come and go last week, as previous weeks had seen the media become flooded with reports about what the iPhone 6 might look like and what features it might offer. But when Apple came out with its formal launch date of September 19 for the iPhone 6, China was absent from the list of markets that would be among the world’s first to receive the new phones. (English article) That marked a departure from the release of the last new iPhones last September, when China was finally included on global launch list for the first time.
But then the confusion started to grow when China was initially included on a list of countries that would launch the new iPhone a week later, with a scheduled release date of September 26. (English article) That plan was part of a broader Asia launch that would also see the phones go on sale that day in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. But then China’s name was suddenly removed from that list without any explanation.
As of today, it’s still a mystery when the iPhone 6 will finally come to China, even though 2 of the nation’s 3 telcos have reportedly already started taking pre-orders for the phone. Of course the secretive Apple isn’t saying anything about the mysterious change of game plan, leaving many to speculate the delay may be due to bureaucratic issues in China.
As a longtime market watcher, I would concur that such bureaucracy is almost certainly the source of the confusion in this case. China’s telecoms regulator, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is one of the few major global regulators that requires a period of testing and validation for all mobile phones before they can go on sale in China. That means many of the newest models from both domestic and global brands often aren’t available in China until weeks after their global release.
So in that sense I can’t really fault Apple for running into unforeseen problems with its certification process for the iPhone 6 in China. My only criticism is that the company could have anticipated such problems might occur, and begun its application process earlier to avoid this kind of embarrassing snafu. That’s not to say that Apple should delay its global launch plans just because of Chinese bureaucracy. But this kind of misstep will only further tarnish Apple’s image in China, a market where government controlled central media also seem intent on bringing the company down a notch or two.
The absence of China from the global launch map is all the more ironic considering that millions of iPhones have been shipped from the country these past couple of weeks, since most of Apple’s manufacturing partners have their factories in China. I’ve no doubt that China will sneak back onto Apple’s global launch map, arriving here by mid-October, once the situation with the MIIT has been sorted. But in the meantime this embarrassing snafu could lower the company’s image just slightly in the minds of Chinese consumers.
Bottom line: Confusion over the iPhone 6 launch date for China is likely the result of local bureaucracy beyond Apple’s control, but could further damage the company’s reputation among Chinese consumers.
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