A number of Apple-based news sites are reporting that Apple could launch iPhone 6 in China on October 10. These sites are basing their suppositions on a TechWeb article that shows a screenshot of an internal Apple memo. This comes after the announcement on September 27 where the chief of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that the iPhone 6 is in the final state of the approval process.
If the screenshot is translated properly, it says that the iPhone prototype store shelves will be in stores on October 7 and sales will start three days later. This puts the launch two weeks into the company’s fiscal first quarter and, as long as supply holds out, will help boost holiday sales.
One analyst, Keith Bachman with BMO, says that Apple could potentially sell more than 10 million iPhones in the December quarter. He is estimating that 58 million iPhones will be sold in the holiday quarter alone and that if they are available in China for the full quarter, then that number is conservative. He raised his EPS and revenue estimates last week.
Right now, the iPhone 6 orders are arriving either five to seven or seven to 10 business days later while the iPhone 6 Plus is around three to four weeks.
