Apple Inc's iPhone may debut in China sooner than expected after the US tech firm yesterday was reported to have started manufacturing the Chinese edition of its popular smart phone.

One of China's largest portal websites Neteast.com yesterday reported that Foxconn Technology Group, Apple's manufacturing partner, has started producing the iPhone specially designed for the Chinese market.

The product, code-named "90" by Foxconn, eliminates the WiFi function as earlier reported but kept the support of 3G network, Bluetooth and other popular features, the report said, citing anonymous sources in Foxconn.