If you’ve ever wrestled with a SIM tray in the back of a taxi, Apple’s latest release feels like a blessing.
The new iPhone 17 Air skips the slot altogether.
It’s eSIM-only, and at just 5.6mm thick, about the height of six stacked credit cards, Apple’s slimmest phone yet.
The design is sleek, yes.
But it also nudges users into a new way of connecting, especially in China, where eSIM adoption has been more of a careful stroll than a sprint.
Image via Iphone
Apple and China Unicom: A Tactical Reentry
To make the Air workable in mainland China, Apple has teamed up with China Unicom, currently the only carrier supporting iPhone eSIM.
The partnership covers the China-specific model A3518, but the setup isn’t fully digital yet.
Users will need to pop into a Unicom store in person, passport in hand, to complete real-name registration and get activated.
It feels slightly old-school in an age of instant everything, but it also shows how cautiously China is reintroducing eSIM.
eSIM in China: A Steady Build-Up
China’s first brush with eSIM came through devices too small for a physical SIM card: smartwatches and IoT gadgets.
In 2017, China Mobile rolled out its NB-IoT eSIM module, while China Unicom enabled wearables like the Ticwatch 2. By 2018, Unicom launched its 'One Number, Two Devices' beta, linking phones and watches. Six cities joined the pilot in 2019.
Momentum picked up again in 2023 when China Unicom, Qualcomm, and GSMA announced a joint 5G+eSIM initiative.
But later that year, all three major operators pressed pause.
The concern was how to improve ID checks and provisioning protocols in a country where your phone doubles as a wallet, transit card, and daily ID.
In the meantime, technical standards matured, pilots expanded, and a more secure ecosystem took shape.
Now, with the relaunch set for the second half of 2025, the market is cautiously, but confidently, ready for eSIM’s return.
What It Means
The iPhone 17 Air’s eSIM-only design might look like a bold leap, but in China, it’s landing on ground that’s been carefully prepared.
And as eSIM becomes part of daily life here, it’s not as simple as swapping cards.
It’s about how we carry our digital identities, from payments to transit to the little things that make a phone more than a phone.
Are you ready to go eSIM-only?
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