iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus to go on sale in China in October after regulators give green light

Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will hit store shelves on 17 October

An Apple iPhone 6 stands on display at the Apple Store (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will go on sale in China next month after the Cupertino giant secured regulatory approval from Chinese authorities amid security concerns.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it gave Apple the go-ahead after the tech giant addressed security and privacy concerns. Chinese regulators initially argued they feared the phone's operating system carried risks of personal information leaks.

The Ministry said it took on "rigorous security testing" on the phone and held talks with Apple representatives, which reassured Chinese authorities that the iPhone 6 does not have security "backdoors" that would allow the covert collection of personal data.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will hit shelves on 17 October after going on sale worldwide on 19 September. The late launch in China, the world's biggest smart-phone market, was questioned by analysts given the importance and size of the Chinese market for Apple.

Prices will range from 5,288 yuan (£528) for a 16-gigabyte model to 6,088 yuan for a 64-gigabyte model and 6,888 yuan for a 128-gigabyte, the company said. The iPhone 6 Plus will be priced at 6,088 yuan (£608) to 7,788 yuan.

Earlier this month, a job posting suggested Apple is looking to hire a head of law enforcement in Beijing to issue "appropriate responses to requests from authorities, public prosecutors, and courts" in China, suggesting the company has become under renewed scrutiny by local authorities.

Apple is recovering from a disastrous week, which saw its share price decline below the $100 psychological barrier as investors reacted to the "bendgate" and iOS 8 bug double whammy.