Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple are betting on the nation's second-tier cities, with strong purchasing power and lower high-end device adoption rates compared with Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, for phone sales.

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New stores will also help Apple to sell more next-generation iPhone gadgets, which could be the iPhone 6, industry insiders said.

"Selling contracted phones with carriers has been important for Apple in China. But when it comes to demonstrating a complete user experience for its iOS ecosystem, self-owned flagship stores will still be the most important vehicles to convey the message," said Peng.

Suppliers in China will begin mass production of the iPhone 6 starting this month, according to an earlier Bloomberg report.

The Chinese mainland was among the first markets to sell iPhone 5S/C devices in mid 2013.

During the first quarter, Apple shipped more than 12 million mobile devices to China, including personal computers, tablets and smartphones. That volume made it the third-largest mobile device vendor in the country after Samsung and Lenovo Group Ltd, according to Canalys.

Apple had a 6.6 percent share in the Chinese smartphone market as of the end of the first quarter, well behind Samsung and Lenovo, which had double-digit market shares, data from local research firm Analysys International show.