Mainland China will have its hands on the iPhone 4S earlier than expected. Apple announced recently the country will have the phone by January 13.
The iPhone will also be available in 21 more countries, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, China, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Guam, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos and Uganda.
The product is being released ahead of schedule due to steeped demand, explained Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. Rumors had pegged the release date by the end of the month.
“Customer response to our products in China has been off the charts,” Cook said in a statement. “With the launch in China next week, iPhone 4S will be available in over 90 countries making this our fastest iPhone rollout ever.”
The phone will be available in either black or white with a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model, $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.
It remains unclear how well Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant, will work on the international phones. Though Siri has local features designed to work in any region, it still has to communicate with Apple’s servers and understand additional languages. Without full support for Siri, the phone may not see the same demand in international markets.