After an inordinate delay, Apple's iPhone 17 Air is finally on the verge of an official launch in China, with pre-orders set to go live this Friday.
Tim Cook Announces iPhone 17 Air Launch Timeline In A Weibo Post
Apple's Tim Cook is currently visiting China, presumably in a bid to resolve the regulatory hurdles that had hampered the launch of the iPhone 17 Air in the world's second-largest economy.
It seems Cook's efforts have been successful, with Apple's slimmest smartphone to-date now about to go on sale in China.
To wit, Tim Cook has revealed via a dedicated Weibo post that the iPhone 17 Air pre-orders will commence on October 17, with deliveries slated to begin "next week."
eSIM Issues Had Hampered The Launch Of The iPhone 17 Air In China
The iPhone 17 Air is an eSIM-only smartphone as its slim form factor does not leave much room for a dedicated physical SIM card tray.
This, however, created regulatory issues for Apple in China, which has been notoriously eSIM shy due to a number of reasons:
- eSIMs from foreign carriers open a critical avenue for bypassing the Great Firewall of China (GFC) without using dedicated VPNs.
- Digital wallets for payments in China require phone numbers for registration, and Chinese authorities remained worried about rampant fraudulent activities if consumers could procure a new number (via foreign eSIMs) without proper ID checks.
Nonetheless, it seems the lingering regulatory issues have now been resolved, and the Apple iPhone 17 Air will go live in China next week, presumably with eSIMs from approved local carriers only.
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