The release of the iPhone Air will be delayed in China to solve regulatory issues that are associated with the eSIM requirement of the iPhone. The company updated their website in China on Friday, changing the dates of pre-order and the launch schedule which were originally on September 12 and September 19.
Pre-orders for the other iPhone 17 models will still open on the original schedule set which is at 8:00 pm local time. The iPhone Air does not have a physical slot for a SIM card and is exclusively operating on an e-SIM only operation because it is 5.6mm thick.
This has set back Apple’s plans because they have worked with China Unicorn to offer eSIM support for the iPhone Air. China Mobile has taken to Weibo that eSIM services for phones have been enabled, but the release date would be announced at a different time.
