As part of a recent report regarding the ‘iPhone 17 Air’, The Information briefly mentioned that Apple is aiming to ditch the iPhone’s physical SIM card in more countries outside the United States. Currently, all iPhone 14 through iPhone 16 models sold in the U.S. omit the physical SIM slot, so those devices rely entirely on eSIM technology, which is both more secure and convenient for traveling. All iPad models introduced this year also follow suit.
Although the report didn’t indicate which countries will see this change, it looks like Apple will start this transition with next year’s iPhone 17 lineup as earlier prototypes of the ‘iPhone 17 Air’ omit the physical SIM slot. Since China hasn’t approved the use of eSIM in smartphones, it’s unclear whether the upcoming smartphones will make it to the Chinese market, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
The source also expects the ‘iPhone 17 Air’ to lack the 5G mmWave, but it will retain a single rear camera, a smaller battery, a mono speaker, and Apple’s custom 5G chip. The iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to return to aluminum for the frame. With that said, the entire iPhone 17 lineup is expected to debut next September.
