Apple's thinnest iPhone model ever launches eSIM in China for the first time. Will the three major telecom operators start a fierce competition?
Early in the morning on September 10th, Apple's most anticipated product launch event of the year kicked off. Undoubtedly, the most attention - grabbing product was the iPhone Air series, which is claimed to be "the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever made by Apple."
The iPhone Air is equipped with the brand - new A19 Pro processor, currently the most powerful iPhone chip. It also features Apple's self - developed C1x modem, which is twice as fast as the C1. In addition, the iPhone Air adopts Apple's new N1 chip design, supporting Wi - Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread technology. Despite its thinness, Apple promises that the iPhone Air has all - day battery life, supporting up to 27 hours of video playback. When using the $99 iPhone Air MagSafe battery, the battery life can reach up to 40 hours.
Besides its powerful performance, another highlight of the iPhone Air is that it is currently the only iPhone in mainland China that supports eSIM, and China Unicom is the only supported iPhone eSIM carrier in mainland China.
All Three Major Telecom Carriers Have Deployed eSIM Mobile Phone Services
The so - called eSIM is a digital SIM card that meets industry standards and is built into the iPhone, eliminating the need for a physical SIM card. For consumers who are not familiar with eSIM, their first question about this feature might be - "What benefits does eSIM bring to me?"
Firstly, eSIM is the key to making mobile phones thinner and lighter. From a hardware perspective, although the traditional physical SIM card is small in size, when considering the card cage, shielding cover, and card - removal structure, it takes up a significant amount of space in a mobile phone where space is at a premium. After eliminating the physical SIM card and tray, smartphone manufacturers may use the extra space to increase the phone's battery capacity or even change the chip arrangement and design to add more functions to the phone. Meanwhile, fewer openings on the phone also mean better protection against moisture, water, and dust, reducing the probability of malfunctions. For example, the newly released iPhone Air only supports eSIM, which means there is no need to design a space - consuming plug - in card slot, making it possible to achieve a thickness of only 5.6 millimeters and a weight of 165 grams.
Secondly, eSIM makes it more convenient for users to switch carriers while keeping their phone numbers. The programmable nature of eSIM allows it to write to and erase data on the same hardware device. It also enables different devices to be bound to the same phone number. For mobile phone users, this means they can freely switch between carriers, use dual - SIMs for work and personal use, or use eSIM to easily switch carriers and distinguish calls and text messages received from different numbers, without the need for complex processes such as registration, cancellation, and re - registration.
Thirdly, eSIM provides stronger security for users. We know that once a mobile phone is stolen, thieves usually throw away the SIM card immediately, increasing the difficulty for the owner to locate and retrieve the phone. eSIM can prevent this problem at the root. Since there is no physical card, the eSIM cannot be removed or inserted into other phones. The digital authorization mechanism of eSIM also allows carriers to revoke authorization directly from the backend, preventing criminals from misusing the eSIM.
Given the significant advantages of eSIM, why has it taken so long to be widely adopted in mobile phones? In fact, there are no technical difficulties in applying eSIM in mobile phones. Its large - scale promotion depends entirely on the game among various parties. The emergence of eSIM means that users can freely switch carriers, which undoubtedly conflicts with the interests of carriers. However, despite the "bumpy" promotion process, it has finally achieved some phased results.
Currently, China Unicom is the only supported iPhone eSIM carrier in mainland China. Apple emphasizes that the eSIM in the Chinese market only supports iPhone Air models sold in mainland China. eSIMs from non - mainland Chinese carriers cannot be installed in mainland China. In addition, when users travel outside mainland China, they can also activate the travel eSIM, which means that China Unicom will launch eSIM card services with the help of Apple's iPhone Air.
Not only China Unicom, China Telecom has also responded that its eSIM mobile phone services are fully ready. After obtaining the official approval for commercial trials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in the near future, it will soon open the service for handling eSIM mobile phone services, including for the iPhone 17.
Meanwhile, China Mobile has also submitted an eSIM application. If approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it will also provide the service. A relevant person from China Mobile pointed out that China Mobile already supports the handling of eSIM mobile phone services, and it will announce the opening of the service separately.
The Adoption of eSIM in Apple Phones Is of Great Significance for the Development of the Entire Ecosystem
Before Apple, domestic mobile phone manufacturers had tried to adopt eSIM as soon as possible. As early as 2021, Lei Jun launched the Xiaomi MIX 4 at Xiaomi's autumn product launch event. One of the highlights of this phone was a new privacy protection function - a more powerful anti - loss mode, which was actually realized by the built - in eSIM. However, this function was later cancelled because the service and technical solution did not meet relevant national regulations and had not been approved for use in mobile phone products. Not long ago, there were also rumors in the market that the Huawei Mate XTs might be the first to launch eSIM in China before Apple, but this expectation was not realized when the product was actually launched.
Finally, it was Apple that took the lead in mainland China. The introduction of eSIM technology in the iPhone Air is one of the new entry points to stimulate users' demand for upgrading their phones. It is expected to drive more domestic mobile phone manufacturers to follow up and deploy eSIM. The active promotion of eSIM by well - known terminal manufacturers such as Apple, Huawei, and Xiaomi is of great significance for the development of the entire ecosystem.
It is an undeniable fact that although eSIM has been developed for many years, it has always been in a "lukewarm" state. Especially in terms of consumer awareness, market research firm Counterpoint Research previously published a blog post sharing the results of a survey of 3,535 respondents in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, and Japan. The results showed that only 35% of the respondents were aware of eSIM technology, and among those who were aware of it, only 39% were using it.
This indicates that despite the joint efforts of eSIM providers, network carriers, and device manufacturers to simplify the acquisition and activation of eSIM, the adoption rate is still slow. Fortunately, more than 90% of eSIM users are satisfied with the service, highlighting the key advantages of eSIM.
Source: Counterpoint Research Consumer eSIM Awareness Survey
Mohit Agrawal, the research director at Counterpoint, commented on the research results: "Although eSIM technology has obvious advantages, such as enhanced flexibility and multi - SIM functionality, consumers are still reluctant to fully embrace it. A significant portion of consumers still do not understand the full potential and advantages of eSIM. 61% of the respondents listed eSIM as their least preferred SIM card connection option. Due to factors such as device compatibility limitations and the lack of an immediate need to switch, many people still prefer traditional SIM cards or hybrid models."
It is crucial to address these obstacles by strengthening education and improving the user experience to promote the wider adoption of eSIM technology. Mobile terminals such as phones may be the best medium to enhance awareness. Siddhant Cally, a research analyst at Counterpoint, said: "The limited availability of eSIM in flagship devices of iPhone and other smartphone manufacturers remains a major obstacle to wide - scale adoption, especially for users without eSIM - compatible devices. This limited device compatibility prevents a wider consumer group from fully realizing the expected advantages of eSIM technology. When eSIM becomes more popular in low - cost smartphones, which dominate the mobile market, especially in emerging regions, the adoption of eSIM will truly make a breakthrough."
GSMA Intelligence's forecast shows that by the end of 2025, the number of global eSIM smartphone connections is expected to reach 1 billion, and by 2030, this figure is expected to increase to 7 billion, accounting for about three - quarters of the total global smartphone connections.
eSIM Is a "Must - Have" for Internet of Things (IoT) Devices
Compared with the huge obstacles in the application of eSIM in mobile phones, the IoT has always provided a broad space for the development of eSIM. It can even be said that eSIM is a "must - have" for IoT devices. This is because IoT devices are often deployed in large numbers. When changing the SIM card of a mobile phone, one needs to remove the card and go to a business hall to handle the procedure. However, it is clearly impractical to remove the cards of thousands of IoT devices. With the remote configuration of eSIM, manufacturers can conduct large - scale deployments at once and manage them more conveniently.
In addition, eSIM can help smart terminals save space, improve performance, enable flexible deployment and convenient management. It also stimulates the borderless mobility of IoT hardware, meeting the needs of IoT hardware to "go global."
In mid - 2023, GSMA released a new eSIM IoT specification, SGP.32. This new remote configuration standard provides simplified integration, ensures seamless switching between suppliers, and speeds up the time to market, thus clearing the obstacles for large - scale deployment in the IoT field.
According to Juniper Research statistics, by 2026, it is expected that about 6% of eSIMs globally will be used in the IoT field, and the number of global IoT connections using eSIM technology will increase from 22 million in 2023 to 195 million.
In the future, with the gradual maturity of technology and the support of global carriers, eSIM will play an increasingly important role in both the consumer market and the IoT field.
References:
Latest Developments of eSIM Mobile Phone Services of the Three Major Telecom Carriers: China Telecom Is Fully Ready, and China Mobile Will Notify after Opening the Service, The Paper
All Three Major Telecom Carriers Have Deployed eSIM Mobile Phone Services, China Economic Net
The First Domestic eSIM Mobile Phone Is Launched! The Three Major Telecom Carriers Are Ready, IoT World
Year after year... Why Has the Development of eSIM Always Fallen Short of Expectations?, IoT Think Tank
It's Time to Re - Understand eSIM!, IoT Think Tank
This article is from the WeChat official account "IoT Think Tank" (ID: iot101), author: Sophia, published by 36Kr with authorization.