Reuters reports that Chinese wireless carriers China Telecom and China Unicom will be taking orders for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C starting next week. Deliveries are to begin the following week.
The report follows the issuing of invitations for a September 11 Apple satellite launch event in Beijing, just hours after the company holds its main media event on September 10 at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
Reuters notes that while in the past there had been a wait of a few months before Apple would launch its latest and greatest devices in China, but now China is too important a market to allow a lag like that.
China Telecom and China Unicom are currently the only carriers in the country to offer the iPhone. While China Mobile hasn’t officially announced a deal with Apple, there have been reports that both sides are nearing a deal. The phone could come slightly later on China Mobile, due to the need for regulatory approval of the iPhone hardware on China Mobile’s network.
