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iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro Models Are eSIM-Only in These Countries
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I‘ve never needed this ‚feature‘ even once. Give me eSIM-only now please.
Obviously, because physical are still used, duh. Usually cheaper too.
Looks like this year Hong-Kong gets the EU-version (meaning only 1 physical SIM).
China probably is dual-physical, no eSim.
iPhone - Supported 5G and LTE networks
See the countries and regions that have certified 5G and LTE networks on iPhone including the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, China mainland, and more.
www.apple.com
Why?
How does the physical SIM slot hinder you from only using 2 eSIMs anyway? You can do that today!
Some countries' carriers don't support eSIM. I use the physical SIM when traveling abroad. If I had no physical SIM slot, I would have to overpay on roaming at some destinations, or overprices global eSIMs. I'll take the local physical SIM anytime (if they don't offer eSIM).
I’m from Australia, and I don’t think that Australia is quite ready for a full eSIM-only experience. There are still quite a few MNVOs that don’t support eSIM, with some saying that it’s “on the way” and some not providing any indication whatsoever. My previous provider (Moose Mobile) falls into the latter category.
Buying an iPhone 17 Air in Australia would limit your choice in providers/phone plans.
I swear, Australia is so slow with implementing new technologies. We don’t even have RCS support on iPhone yet
Buying an iPhone 17 Air in Australia would limit your choice in providers/phone plans.
I swear, Australia is so slow with implementing new technologies. We don’t even have RCS support on iPhone yet
If you are a REGULAR heavy traveller, a physical sim is FAR better. I've been to 143 countries and travel about 7-8 months per year and esims are much more expensive in MANY areas, even in places that have both options. A physical sim option is a big deal. If you are a three week vacation kind of person, this won't affect you much, but when you are traveling constantly it matters.
Just one example of many: The last time I was in Bali, the only company in the airport that sold eSims was closed. There were 4 other options (with more competitive prices) but they were physical sim only. So I had to rely on Google Fi which was fine for a few days, but I was already up to my 90 day limit and they cut it off and I had to find an eSim in town, which was a mess. You'd get a good price from someone and then they'd say, oh, we don't have eSims.
And Apple didn't say how much more battery life was in the phone, so you can expect that the answer is "not much." I'm in the US but will buy my phone in Hong Kong.
Just one example of many: The last time I was in Bali, the only company in the airport that sold eSims was closed. There were 4 other options (with more competitive prices) but they were physical sim only. So I had to rely on Google Fi which was fine for a few days, but I was already up to my 90 day limit and they cut it off and I had to find an eSim in town, which was a mess. You'd get a good price from someone and then they'd say, oh, we don't have eSims.
And Apple didn't say how much more battery life was in the phone, so you can expect that the answer is "not much." I'm in the US but will buy my phone in Hong Kong.
If you go to Bali for spring break like the rest of your kindI’m from Australia, and I don’t think that Australia is quite ready for a full eSIM-only experience. There are still quite a few MNVOs that don’t support eSIM, with some saying that it’s “on the way” and some not providing any indication whatsoever. My previous provider (Moose Mobile) falls into the latter category.
Buying an iPhone 17 Air in Australia would limit your choice in providers/phone plans.
I swear, Australia is so slow with implementing new technologies. We don’t even have RCS support on iPhone yet
you are much better off with a physical sim slot.
(I’m just gonna assume this is not a rhetorical question.) It’s not Apple’s issue, so I’m going to guess if you don’t want to pay off the contract, you won’t be upgrading.
esim is a terrible feature. really sad that the writing is on the wall for physical sim. i can see it disappear in other countries sooner or later.
just look at this doc:
support.apple.com
so much fine print... you need to read it like a lawyer to figure out the what's allowed and what's not.
with a physical sim, the answer to pretty much all of the scenarios listed in the doc is "put the sim in another phone" or "hand the sim to another person." So much easier to understand with physical. Even the super young and super old can get it immediately, because they're intuitive.
I think esims are good in theory. But in practice, the implementations are so terrible that it's much worse than physical. If you look at it from the carrier's perspective, it's absolutely understandable that they want to make it hard for you to switch.
The most stupid thing about esims? Most of the time you need internet access to activate it. What a catch-22....
just look at this doc:
Find wireless carriers and worldwide service providers that offer eSIM service on iPhone - Apple Support
An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows you to activate a mobile data plan from your network provider without having to use a physical nano-SIM. Find out which wireless carriers in your country or region offer cellular plans on an eSIM, either activated by eSIM Carrier Activation, eSIM Quick...
so much fine print... you need to read it like a lawyer to figure out the what's allowed and what's not.
with a physical sim, the answer to pretty much all of the scenarios listed in the doc is "put the sim in another phone" or "hand the sim to another person." So much easier to understand with physical. Even the super young and super old can get it immediately, because they're intuitive.
I think esims are good in theory. But in practice, the implementations are so terrible that it's much worse than physical. If you look at it from the carrier's perspective, it's absolutely understandable that they want to make it hard for you to switch.
The most stupid thing about esims? Most of the time you need internet access to activate it. What a catch-22....
I’m with you on that one. I too desire the larger battery, but we’re locked out of that option all together. Paying the same price but with less capacity.
Just hope next year they either add the option or more regions, especially my own, is made eSIM only.
Physical SIMs are much better when you travel internationally. Sometimes I borrow a SIM temporarily from a friend there, put it in my phone and have 5G etc. working immediately. Hand it back later. Can borrow a SIM, put it in the iPhone and tether it to my MacBook Pro. Bang, I'm online. Do work. Emails. Look for stuff. Done. Hand the SIM back. Or hang onto it for a few days. Very convenient.
When I went to Bali in 2024, I ended up getting a Telkomsel Tourist eSIM, as my SIM tray was taken up my Australian SIM card. Because Telkomsel doesn’t issue eSIMs via email, and only certain Telkomsel stores issue eSIMs, I had to get a taxi to their Kuta store just to pick up a tourist eSIM. So much more complicated than it needed to be 🙃If you go to Bali for spring break like the rest of your kind
Physical SIMs are definitely better for international travel. I’ve been travelling through Europe using an O2 Pay As You Go SIM as they have free EU roaming. eSIM isn’t available on O2 Pay As You Go (or, it wasn’t available at the time I arrived in the UK), so I picked up a physical SIM from Sainsbury and put it in my phone. So easy!