The iPhone 6 will be available in China in October

After facing security concerns from Chinese regulators, Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available in China next month.

The devices will be on sale in China on Oct. 17, and preorders will begin on Oct. 10. The news comes after the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were delayed from release in China, reportedly because of security concerns.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a statement Tuesday saying that Apple needed to meet its security measurements before the device could be sold in China. The statement mentioned "personal privacy risks" and "the possibility of malicious use" by third parties.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In July, China's state-run CCTV called the iPhone a "national security concern" because of its location tracking. Apple responded directly to CCTV's complaint, saying that Apple doesn't track users' locations.

Time notes that China is a "critical market" for Apple, and China accounts for 16 percent of Apple's overall sales. However, Apple's competitors like Xiaomi, a.k.a. the "Apple of China," are on the rise in China as well — Apple isn't one of China's top five phone makers.