The iPhone Ultra launch in China may be delayed for the same reason as the iPhone Air

The iPhone 15 models sold in the US exclusively used eSIM – in the US, Apple’s move away from physical SIMs went off without a hitch. The story in China was different, though. The iPhone Air was the first eSIM-only model to be sold in China and it faced delays over compliance issues.

That was a year ago, but it sounds like Apple is headed for another troubled launch – the Chinese launch of the foldable iPhone Ultra will be delayed compared to other markets, reports Instant Digital on Weibo.

Instant points to issues with the iPhone Air – activation, replacement and transfer of eSIMs are still not user-friendly, reports the poster. And as the Ultra is set to become Apple’s second eSIM-only phone in China, it will suffer from the same issues.

Meanwhile, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are expected to retain their SIM+eSIM combo, which is what international and Chinese models usually provide. The foldable Ultra, like the super-thin Air, is space-constrained, which is likely why Apple is skipping the physical slot.

The two iPhone 18 Pros and the iPhone Ultra will be unveiled tomorrow and are expected to go on pre-order on Friday (September 11). Besides regulatory hurdles, the Ultra may have supply issues too. A rumor claimed that Apple only has enough units to launch the Ultra in the US first and only then introduce it to other key markets.

Source (in Chinese) | Via