Apple's iPhone 6 to arrive in China on Oct. 17 after receiving regulatory license [u]

Apple's latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones will hit the important Chinese market on Oct. 10, as the country's regulatory agency in charge of communications issued a license to start devices sales Tuesday local time.

According to a brief report from Reuters, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology posted an update to its website announcing that Apple has received the necessary licenses to sell the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in China, the world's largest smartphone market and a key to growth for the Cupertino company.

A report over the weekend claimed to show internal retail training documents suggesting Apple would start Chinese iPhone 6 sales on Oct. 10, though the date has not been confirmed. The company received radio certification for the iPhone pair nearly two weeks ago, but has been waiting on network access licenses to initiate sales.

Shortly after the ministry's announcement on Tuesday, Apple issued a press release confirming that presales would begin on Oct. 10 ahead of launch a week later on Oct. 17.

Apple continued its worldwide iPhone rollout last week by adding availability to 22 countries. The company plans to have the new iPhone models in 115 countries by the end of the year.

Update: Apple has confirmed Chinese iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus preorders will begin on Oct. 10, with in-store availability to follow on Oct. 17. This story has been updated to reflect the new information.