iPhone Air orders in China may be delayed due to eSIM issue

Apple’s iPhone Air launch may be delayed in China due to regulations around its eSIM-only nature, the South China Morning Post announced. Apple’s mainland China site now states that “release information [will] be updated later,” where previously it said that pre-orders would start at 8PM on September 19. The Beijing branch of China Telecom has also pulled a post from the RedNote social media platform announcing that it would launch its eSIM service this month. All other iPhone models (the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max) will launch as scheduled next Friday.

Due to its slim 5.6 mm thickness, Apple decided to make the iPhone Air its first model with no physical SIM card option. However, it has always sold iPhones in China with SIM card support that allows customers to easily link their identity to a cellular phone. Because an eSIM is built in, though, customers who want an iPhone Air must appear in person at a retail store to get it approved. Apple notes that “all other iPhone models, including those purchased outside of China mainland, are unable to install an eSIM profile from carriers in China mainland.”

China Unicom was supposed to support eSIM at launch to start with, according to a cached Apple support document, with China Telecom and China Mobile following later. However, the same document now states that eSIM support for the iPhone Air is still “pending regulatory approval.” A representative from China Telecom said that approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology would arrive “very soon,” according to the SCMP.