Domestic eSIM phones are here! 6 things you need to know before buying the iPhone Air
Unexpectedly, Tim Cook has also started live - streaming to promote products. During last night's live - stream on Douyin's Apple Store, Apple CEO Tim Cook promoted the iPhone 17 series on - site and announced that the iPhone Air will start accepting pre - orders this Friday (October 17th) and will be officially released next Wednesday (October 22nd).
It's finally here. As a new model in the new - generation iPhones, although the iPhone Air has sparked quite a bit of controversy in China, its extremely thin body and highly differentiated product definition have attracted a great deal of attention. However, due to the eSIM issue, the Chinese mainland version has not been launched for a long time, and many people can only get their hands on it in places like Hong Kong first.
Just before Cook's official announcement, China Unicom published an article titled "eSIM phones are here!" The article stated that China Unicom has officially received approval to conduct a commercial trial of eSIM phone operation services. Subsequently, China Mobile and China Telecom also announced that they had received approval to conduct commercial trials of eSIM phone operation services and have fully launched eSIM phone handling services.
Image source: China Unicom, China Telecom, China Mobile
Although the eSIM issue has been resolved and the launch time of the iPhone Air has been determined, there is still a major question for Apple: Do Chinese consumers really want a product like the iPhone Air, which has extremely distinct advantages and disadvantages? We'll have to wait and see. However, there are still many issues about eSIM and the iPhone Air that we must understand before that.
6 questions you must know before buying the iPhone Air
To be honest, as an individual consumer, I'm very glad to see the emergence of the iPhone Air. It can be regarded as a new attempt by Apple. Official data shows that this phone is only 5.6 millimeters thick, making it the thinnest generation among all iPhones. At the same time, it is equipped with the A19 Pro chip, supports a 120 Hz refresh rate, comes with an improved screen and an ultra - ceramic crystal glass panel, and retains the MagSafe design.
Of course, in my opinion, the core of the iPhone Air can be summarized in four words: large - screen and lightweight. While fitting a 6.5 - inch XDR display, Apple has managed to make it 5.6mm thick and 165g in weight. In today's mobile phone market, where most 6.5 - inch screen models are approaching or exceeding 200g, the iPhone Air does offer an option for those who want a larger screen and a lighter, thinner body.
Image source: Apple
However, an extremely thin body means making trade - offs in internal design, battery capacity, heat dissipation space, etc., which brings limitations to the user experience. For example, charging speed, transmission efficiency, battery life decay during long - term high - intensity use, and heat control. More importantly, the iPhone Air is an eSIM - only device and is the first mobile phone to fully implement the "no physical card" concept for Chinese mainland consumers.
In this change, in addition to looking at the phone itself, users also need to pay attention to related issues such as "operation experience, handling cost, and subsequent migration ability". Below are 8 questions you must read carefully before placing an order. This is not to deny the iPhone Air, but only by clarifying these "limitations" can you make a more confident purchase.
1. All three major operators support it, but can we all handle it?
On October 13th, China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom all announced that they had received approval for the "eSIM mobile phone commercial trial". Theoretically, they can all activate eSIM services for the iPhone Air. However, "being able to handle" and "being easy to handle" are not necessarily the same thing. Currently, all three operators are in the "trial commercial" stage, and the handling method is online reservation and offline real - name registration.
In terms of coverage, China Telecom announced its official launch in 31 provinces and municipalities across the country, while China Mobile stated "full - scale launch". Although China Unicom did not specify in its announcement, judging from the reservation page, all three support most offline business halls across the country. Take the area where Xiaolei is located as an example. Most nearby China Telecom business halls support the handling of eSIM mobile phone services.
Image source: Lei Technology
It should be noted that not all offline stores with the operator's sign can be regarded as real "business halls", but basically all offline business halls queried through each operator's APP support handling.
2. Is the handling process more complicated compared to physical cards?
To be honest, changing to this phone may be more troublesome than before. In the past, inserting a card and activating it only took a few minutes to start using. However, for eSIM in China, whether it's handling a new card or migrating an old one, it requires offline real - name registration and then writing the information into the phone within a certain period. What we don't know yet is whether, in the future, when switching from a Chinese mainland version iPhone Air to another Chinese mainland version eSIM phone, the information can be directly migrated and written by scanning a QR code or if it still needs to be handled at an offline business hall.
For those familiar with digital devices, this process is just a bit troublesome, but it may really give ordinary consumers a headache. We still don't know if offline business stores have corresponding handling guidance and subsequent usage instructions. It can only be said that at present, when the eSIM ecosystem in China is not fully mature, this new attempt still incurs a certain switching cost.
3. Is the Chinese mainland version eSIM phone still useful during international travel?
This question is particularly crucial. eSIM largely facilitates the cross - border mobile network experience. Under normal circumstances, you can purchase and write the eSIM information in advance and use it upon arrival. However, the Chinese mainland version iPhone Air cannot install overseas eSIMs within the Chinese mainland - this is a restriction clearly stated by Apple on its official website. In other words, you can't buy an overseas eSIM QR code in China and write it in advance. You have to wait until you arrive in a foreign country and turn on the location before you can install it.
This has a relatively obvious impact on the mobile network experience during overseas travel. For example, many overseas eSIM platforms for data plans can be purchased directly online, but they cannot be installed and written in advance in China. You have to wait until you arrive overseas. In reality, writing the eSIM information after arrival often involves issues such as network conditions and operation processes, increasing the experience cost.
Regular eSIM process, image source: Alo eSIM
However, eSIM is consistent with physical cards in all functions and also meets the requirement of "five numbers per ID card" (only five numbers are allowed under one ID card). Theoretically, the Chinese mainland version iPhone Air still supports writing up to 8 eSIMs (including overseas eSIMs) simultaneously and activating and using 2 eSIMs at the same time (dual - SIM dual - standby).
4. Can the overseas version of the iPhone Air install a Chinese mainland eSIM?
The answer is no, not even the Hong Kong version.
Although the overseas version can directly install eSIMs from other regions both inside and outside the Chinese mainland, Apple points out on its official website that all iPhone models except the Chinese mainland version iPhone Air (model A3518) cannot install eSIM profile files provided by Chinese mainland operators, including iPhone models purchased outside the Chinese mainland.
Image source: Apple
According to Chen Fengwei, the deputy general manager of China Unicom Huasheng Communications Co., Ltd. (a wholly - owned subsidiary of China Unicom), due to the strict management requirements of real - name registration for communications and data security certification in China, the eSIM data download of the Chinese mainland version eSIM phones needs to pass the domestic security certificate authentication, and only the Chinese mainland version has the corresponding security certificate built - in.
Moreover, considering that all global versions of the iPhone Air are eSIM - only and the physical SIM card slot has been completely removed, the overseas version has even less value for use in China. However, the teams in Huaqiangbei have come up with another way. They can use NFC card stickers to deceive the overseas version iPhone Air into using physical SIM cards from Chinese mainland operators.
However, even so, Xiaolei does not recommend it. There are significant risks in terms of Apple's possible plugging of loopholes and daily stability.
5. With a battery capacity of only 3149mAh, is the battery life of the iPhone Air really sufficient?
Let's start with the conclusion: Under the "moderate - use scenario" of overseas users, the battery life of the iPhone Air is sufficient, but domestic users may not be satisfied.
According to Apple's official claim, the iPhone Air supports up to 27 hours of local video playback and 22 hours of streaming video playback. In the test of YouTuber Dave2D, the iPhone Air can last about 3 hours and 11 minutes when playing "Genshin Impact" at a brightness of 600 nits, and in daily scenarios using apps like Reddit, the battery life can reach 9.5 hours.
Image source: YouTube@Dave2D
In contrast, the standard version of the iPhone 17, which has a battery over 500mAh larger, can run "Genshin Impact" for about 5 hours under the same conditions and can last for more than 13 hours in daily scenarios.
To be honest, considering its thickness and battery capacity, the battery - life performance of the iPhone Air is quite good. In the test of Tom's Guide, it even outperformed the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, which has a larger battery. In Tom's Guide's daily - scenario test, the gap between the iPhone Air and the standard version of the iPhone 17 is even smaller, with the former lasting 12 hours and 2 minutes and the latter 12 hours and 47 minutes.
Not to mention the general differences in daily mobile - phone usage habits between overseas and domestic users, the result of over 3 hours of playing "Genshin Impact" is a bit embarrassing in the Chinese market.
6. With high - level integration, will the heating problem affect daily use?
In a previous article, Lei Technology discussed the extremely amazing internal stacking of the iPhone Air but also pointed out a concern - heat accumulation.
Image source: Apple
In fact, this problem does exist. Engadget pointed out that the Deco area "tends to heat up easily", and due to the extremely thin body, heat conduction and heat dissipation space are compressed. After a 10 - minute test of "Asphalt" (a racing game) by Tom's Guide, the temperature of the hot area was measured to be about 41 - 43 °C. This can be regarded as the physical fate of ultra - thin mobile phones.
But the key question is, will it affect game performance and daily performance? The test by "Wired" magazine shows that the problem in games is relatively obvious. During a 1 - hour test of "Assassin's Creed: Mirage" (a PC triple - A game ported to iOS), the iPhone was a bit more laggy, and the temperature reached a maximum of about 46°C.
However, apart from games, in daily use, the performance limitations of the iPhone Air are hardly noticeable. Not only "Wired" magazine, but also The Verge and YouTubers have mentioned that they hardly encountered any lag in the daily use of the iPhone Air. It can only be said that for daily low - to - medium - load scenarios, the A19 Pro can handle them with ease, and its advantage in energy - efficiency performance is still obvious.
Conclusion
Image source: Apple
If the iPhone Air represents a complete lightweight experiment by Apple, then it is also the first real - world test for Chinese consumers when facing an eSIM - only mobile phone.
There is no doubt about the attractiveness of the iPhone Air. Its extremely lightweight feel, beautiful design, large screen, and almost impeccable system smoothness have made it the most anticipated mobile phone for many people this year. However, before purchasing, domestic users must be more clearly aware that this is an iPhone with some new thresholds.
Although the three major operators have launched pilot programs, currently, eSIM in China needs to be handled offline, and the processes of migration and card replacement are not easy. For those who often change phones or need a secondary number, this is not a "painless upgrade". Secondly, the 3149