The dust has settled on the China eSIM; Cook officially announced on Douyin: iPhone 17 Air will be released next week.
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With the announcements from China Unicom and China Mobile that they have been approved to conduct eSIM mobile phone commercial pilot trials, and Tim Cook officially announcing that the mainland Chinese version of the iPhone 17 Air with eSIM will go on sale next week, the Chinese smartphone market is officially entering the eSIM era.
On the evening of October 13th, Apple CEO Tim Cook officially announced in the Douyin Apple Store livestream room that the highly anticipated pure eSIM model iPhone Air will open for pre-orders on October 17th and will be fully released on October 22nd.
On the 13th, China Unicom and China Mobile successively released announcements, declaring they have officially received approval to carry out commercial pilot operations of eSIM services for mobile phones. This breakthrough by the carriers has paved the way for the launch of the iPhone Air and also signals that the domestic smartphone market has officially entered the eSIM era.
As the first Apple phone to completely eliminate the physical SIM card slot, the iPhone Air will bring Chinese consumers a convenient mobile communication experience without a physical card and with online activation and activation. Analysts point out that Cook's personal appearance in the livestream shows the importance Apple places on the Chinese market.
It is understood that the mainland China version of the iPhone Air is available in three storage variants: the 256GB version is priced at 7,999 yuan, the 512GB version is priced at 9,999 yuan, and the 1TB version is priced at 11,999 yuan. Consumers can pre-order through Apple's official China website, the Apple Store App, Tmall, and Douyin flagship stores, among other official channels.
Carrier eSIM Services Officially Approved
On October 13th, China Unicom and China Mobile successively released sensational news, announcing they have officially received approval to conduct commercial pilot trials of eSIM mobile phone services. China Unicom stated that this breakthrough is a milestone in their decade-long technological accumulation in the eSIM field.
Just a few hours later, Apple responded quickly. Apple CEO Tim Cook appeared in the Douyin Apple Store livestream room to personally announce this major news, showing the emphasis placed on the Chinese market.
According to Daily Economic News, China Unicom officially launched a nationwide eSIM pre-registration channel on the same day, with more than 60,000 people already registered and the number still growing rapidly. Users can register for eSIM services via the China Unicom WeChat public account, app, or offline service centers. China Mobile also simultaneously announced that users can go to service centers to apply for eSIM phone services.
This policy breakthrough solves the biggest obstacle faced by the iPhone Air since its release in September. As a phone that completely eliminates the physical SIM card slot, the iPhone Air relies entirely on carrier eSIM services; the official approval of carrier services removes regulatory hurdles for the mainland China launch.
eSIM, or embedded SIM, is different from traditional physical SIM cards as it is directly embedded in the device chip, enabling communication functions without the need to insert or replace a physical card. Devices complete carrier network configuration through over-the-air download technology, greatly enhancing waterproof and dustproof performance.
This technology enables even slimmer designs and also simplifies the user experience. With the official release of the iPhone Air, Chinese consumers will experience the convenience brought by this new technology on a large scale for the first time. According to an Apple spokesperson:
"We believe mainland Chinese customers will fall in love with the iPhone Air and hope they get to experience it as soon as possible."
iPhone Air Technical Specs and Design Highlights
As Apple’s first “Air”-named phone, the iPhone Air has shown significant features in both design and technology.
By removing the physical SIM card slot, the device achieves an astonishing thickness of 5.6mm, and the mid-frame is made of grade 5 aerospace titanium alloy, with both front and back covered by Super Ceramic panels.
In terms of performance, the iPhone Air is equipped with the brand new A19 Pro processor, whose GPU peak performance is reportedly three times that of the A18 Pro. It also features Apple's self-developed N1 chip and C1X modem, supporting next-generation standards such as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0.
The display and camera configurations are also outstanding, featuring a 6.5-inch 120Hz ProMotion display with peak brightness up to 3,000 nits. The rear houses a 48-megapixel fusion camera, while the front packs an 18-megapixel selfie camera, keeping the imaging capabilities at flagship level.
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