November 26, 2024 – According to a report by The Information today, Apple is planning to remove the physical SIM card slot from iPhones in more countries and regions next year, although no specific nations were mentioned. It is alleged that the current prototypes of the “iPhone 17 Air” do not feature a SIM card slot.
As far as we know, all current iPhone 14 to iPhone 16 models in the United States are already without SIM card slots, relying entirely on eSIM technology.
If the news from The Information is accurate, this change is expected to expand to more areas starting with the iPhone 17 series in September next year. However, it’s worth noting that China has not yet approved eSIM applications for smartphones, so it is anticipated that the Chinese version of the iPhone will still retain the SIM card slot.
Apple’s official documentation also lists global eSIM-supported operators, such as Vodafone in Australia, EE in the UK, SKT in Korea, and SoftBank in Japan. These regions are likely to be the first to eliminate the SIM card slot.
