iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Expected in China on 10 October: Can Apple Survive Xiaomi's Onslaught?

Apple's 4.7in iPhone 6 and the 5.5in iPhone 6 Plus which were officially launched and have brick-and-mortar retail stores across various countries of the world, are now slated to hit the all important 'technology hub' of China.

According to a new report published in Appleinsider that quotes various reports originating from the People's Republic of China (PRC), both of Apple's creative flagship smartphones will be up for sale starting 10 October, Friday.

The Appleinsider report also states that Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available for purchase, on 10 October, in the PRC post approval from the country's Information Technology Ministry.

Competition with Xiaomi

With local brand Xiaomi touted as the 'Apple of China' and the 'iPhone Killer', Apple's latest creative flagships may find the going a bit tough in the country. Also, with Xiaomi having recently overtaken Apple in terms of market share in the Chinese smartphone market, it remains to be seen whether the iPhone 6 and the larger iPhone 6 Plus manage to capture the fancy of people in the PRC.

Another factor that is likely to be a potential roadblock for Apple is the fact that Xiaomi's budget smartphone offering, the Redmi, has managed to sell out in seconds during recent pre-orders in China and India, both of which are considered as high-potential technology markets in the world.

Also, with Apple's iPhone 6 rumoured to be priced at 5288 Yuan (£531), and the iPhone 6 Plus at 6288 Yuan (£631), people in China could potentially accord more priority to the Xiaomi Redmi that is priced at approximately 980 Yuan (£98).

Key technical specifications of Apple's iPhone 6

For those of you in China, interested in buying the Apple iPhone 6, here are a few of the creative flagship's key hardware aspects:

It is no secret that Apple has incorporated a comparatively better battery life within both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets. With the improved batteries, iPhone 6 is claimed to provide a backup time of up to 14 hours on 3G networks, whereas the iPhone 6 Plus' expected battery backup time is 24 hours (a full day) when connected to a 3G network.

Key tech specs of iPhone 6:

• 4.7in LED-backlit IPS LCD shatterproof display
• iOS 8 operating platform
• Apple A8 chipset
• 8MP dual-LED autofocus primary camera
• 1.2MP secondary camera
• 16/64/128GB fixed internal storage variants available
• 4GLTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, NFC and USB 2.0 connectivity
• Fixed Lithium-Polymer battery that is claimed to provide a backup time of up to 14 hours on 3G networks, along with supporting music playback of up to 50 hours.

iPhone 6 Plus:

• 5.5in LED-backlit IPS LCD display
• iOS 8 operating platform
• Apple A8 processor
• 8MP dual-LED autofocus primary camera
• 1.2MP secondary camera for video calling
• 2 GB RAM
• 16/64/128GB fixed internal storage variants available
• 4GLTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, NFC and USB 2.0 connectivity
• Fixed Lithium-Polymer battery that is claimed to provide a backup time of nearly 24 hours, along with supporting nearly 80 hours of music playback.