IPhone Air Photo: VCG

After about a month's delay, Apple's official website for its operations in China shows that the iPhone Air, equipped with eSIM functionality, went on sale in the Chinese mainland on Wednesday, as customers were seen lining up outside Apple stores in Beijing to collect new phones, the Global Times observed.

The new model started pre-orders on October 17. The first batch of customers could pick up their new phones on Wednesday at Apple Stores nationwide or receive them by courier. Apple's website currently shows that the orders placed today are unavailable for in-store pick-up and are expected to be delivered between October 30 and November 6.

The iPhone Air comes in Space Black, Cloud White, Light Gold, and Sky Blue, with a starting storage capacity of 256GB and options for 512GB and 1TB. The starting price is 7,999 yuan.

According to Apple's website, the iPhone Air does not support physical SIM cards. China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom all support eSIM services for the new model, which can be activated by visiting their offline service centers with a valid ID. Each iPhone Air purchased in Chinese mainland can support up to two eSIMs.

All iPhones purchased from apple.com are unlocked and not tied to any telecom operator or carrier. This means users are free to choose their preferred network and plan without being bound by a long-term service contract. After activation, the new iPhone remains carrier-unlocked and can be used with any network that supports iPhone service, according to Apple's website. 

A consumer checks newly launched iPhone Air at an Apple store in Beijing CBD on October 22, 2025. Photo: Tao Mingyang/GT

On the day that iPhone Air pre-orders kicked off, major telecom operators including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom released guidelines on how to apply for eSIM services. On Chinese social media Sina Weibo, some users shared their experiences visiting carrier stores to apply for eSIM cards, saying the process went smoothly.

China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom announced on October 13, 2025 that they had received approval to launch commercial trials of eSIM mobile services, state broadcaster CCTV News reported.

In addition to the iPhone Air, China's domestic smartphone maker OPPO plans to launch its Find X9 Pro phone which will support eSIM. Huawei is currently testing phones with eSIM support, and Vivo is also expected to release eSIM-compatible models in the near future, chinastarmarket.cn reported on October 14, 2025.

Industry insiders noted that many Chinese smartphone makers have already released eSIM versions of their devices in overseas markets, so launching eSIM-compatible models is not a difficult task, according to the report. 

Global Times