In the wee hours of September 10, 2025, Apple hosted its autumn new product launch event, showcasing a range of new offerings, including the iPhone 17 series. Notably, the Chinese domestic version of the iPhone Air exclusively supports eSIM activation. At present, in mainland China, only China Unicom offers eSIM support for this particular model, with only the model A3518 eligible for activation. Users are required to visit physical business locations to verify their identification documents for the activation process.

Not just China Unicom, but both China Telecom and China Mobile are anticipated to roll out eSIM services in the near future. It has come to light that China Mobile has also filed an application for eSIM services. Should the application be approved, China Mobile will commence offering services to the public. Relevant insiders from China Mobile have stated that the company already possesses the capability to support eSIM mobile phone services and will issue a separate notification when the services are officially launched.