Apple’s iPhone 17 series is slated for release on September 10th， featuring four models: the iPhone 17 Air， iPhone 17， iPhone 17 Pro， and iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Due to its ultra-thin design， the iPhone 17 Air will reportedly omit a physical SIM card slot， exclusively supporting eSIM. This means the Chinese domestic version of the iPhone 17 Air will rely entirely on eSIM technology， a development that has naturally drawn significant consumer attention regarding the support from China’s three major carriers: China Unicom， China Mobile， and China Telecom.
As of today， media reports cite China Unicom store staff indicating that while they are not yet certain if the iPhone 17 series will indeed lack a physical SIM tray as rumored， China Unicom is preparing to offer corresponding support for eSIM-only iPhones. They also mentioned that eSIM application processes may be available in their retail stores soon， with further details to be announced.
Furthermore， staff from multiple China Mobile and China Telecom outlets have echoed similar sentiments， stating they have not yet received any relevant notifications regarding the matter.
It is worth noting that China Unicom briefly launched an eSIM mobile service application page in July of this year. The page indicated that during the commercial trial phase of eSIM mobile services， new users would need to apply through offline channels. Users could， alternatively， provide non-first-time application identity information， schedule an appointment for China Unicom staff to visit， or bring their valid personal identification and the eSIM-enabled phone to a China Unicom owned retail store for processing (partner stores were not supported).
