The fact of the matter is that the new iPhone will sell. The only point of contention is by just how many. China Mobile offers a glimpse at possible figures thanks to the number of pre-orders it got for the iPhone 6.

China Mobile has started accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 6 even though Apple hasn't made any official announcements about the product. Rumors have been swirling around for a while about the new iPhone but the only thing definite so far is that Apple will be officially unveiling the 4.7- and 5.5-inch models of the iPhone 6 on Sept. 9.

The carrier doesn't even have official photos of the iPhone 6 and yet it received more than 33,000 reservations. That's a lot, but considering China is a country of more than 1.35 billion people, the figure starts to appear paltry. And it doesn't help that the number represents reservations for both the 4.7- and 5.5-inch models.

Why the dismal numbers? It could be for a number of reasons.

China Mobile is the largest carrier in the world with a subscriber base of over 700 million. That's a big audience to pitch the new iPhone to but reservations were limited to the carrier's online store so maybe access was a problem.

There's also the fact that the iPhone 6 is not yet an official product. Rumors may reflect some of the truth about the product bit by bit but nothing is ever really final until Apple says so, which won't be happening until a few days from now. It's difficult to get consumer confidence when a great deal of uncertainty is involved.

Still, China Mobile's decision to begin pre-orders ahead of the product's announcement can be telling of what consumers can expect from the new iPhone.

For one, offering both sizes at least further confirms that there indeed will be two variants to the iPhone 6. Available screen sizes have been mostly confirmed by numerous leaks in the past but one more proof doesn't hurt.

Aside from that, offering the 4.7- and 5.5-inch models at the same time hints at the possibility that the two will be launched on the same day. Rumors have pointed out potential production problems with the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 so it was believed that it will be launched at a later date.

The iPhone 6 is expected to be available in China starting mid-September.