iPhone 17 Air backed to bring eSIMs to Chinese market

The Chinese market is one notoriously resistant to eSIM-only smartphones (according to the widely respected leaker Digital Chat Station, at least) - however, the supposedly upcoming iPhone 17 Air might have the potential to change that.

It is thought to be as thin as the pre-existing, 5.8mm Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge (now just under $1,085 on Amazon with 512GB of internal storage), if not thinner: a design that allegedly precludes the inclusion of a physical SIM card slot. Accordingly, the Air could help Apple push them into obsolescence in all future mobile devices, even in China.

Other OEMs might follow that lead, even Huawei, according to the latest rumor. The company is currently mulling the development of a super-thin rival to the 17 Air.

Both devices might have to face off against a third, this time running Android with the next-gen Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 flagship chipset from Qualcomm. 

It is also thought to come from a Chinese brand, which might turn out to be the premium camera-focused smartphone-maker Oppo, if not its popular subsidiary OnePlus.