The strange reason why Apple’s iPhone 17 Air might never reach the Chinese market

Missing out on a market as big as China’s would be a massive loss for Apple. Although the problem and financial losses would break the floor on any business chart, the key issue here is actually tiny – a missing SIM card tray.

Apple’s iPhone 17 Air is one of the most-awaited phones in the series. For months now, it’s been reported that it will be the thinnest iPhone in this brand's history, with just 5.5 mm at its thinnest point – around the diameter of a small button on a shirt.

However, while many believe the new design could shake the smartphone market to its core, it may also be responsible for the model's failure to enter one of the world’s biggest markets.

According to a recent post from the Weibo account Fixed Focus Digital, Apple’s iPhone 17 Air will not launch in China because the device lacks a physical SIM card tray. iPhones now rely exclusively on eSIMs.

This is not big news. Back in 2018, Apple introduced dual SIM support, a solution that allowed the phone to have a physical SIM and support one eSIM. In 2022, Apple removed the physical SIM tray entirely in models manufactured specifically for the US market.

Since then, the company has continued to produce iPhones without a SIM tray in other markets, and the iPhone 17 Air is likely no exception.

So far, Apple has often produced slightly different variants of iPhones for the Chinese market, allowing them to have physical SIM trays. This is important in China because physical SIM cards are still widely used as carriers, and government regulations require a physical SIM to register and verify phone ownership.

Therefore, eSIM adoption in China is very limited. And the fact that the iPhone 17 Air is likely going to be the thinnest ever made does not suggest an easily adoptable physical SIM card with a tray.

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This limitation doesn’t mean Chinese buyers won’t be able to purchase other phones in the 17 series, such as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Only the iPhone 17 Air will likely remain outside of China’s market.

This and other awaited design, AI, and technology features will be revealed today, September 9, during Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event.