Apple has cancelled its planned preorder time for the iPhone Air in China, reportedly because of delays getting Chinese regulatory approval for its eSIM.
Until the launch of the iPhone Air, only iPhones sold in the US came with eSIMs instead of physical SIM cards. Now as Apple devotes that same space to larger batteries, the company has launched an eSIM-only iPhone Air worldwide, and been training staff on its use.
However, according to the South China Morning Post, there has now been a delay. Instead of preorders for the Phone Air being listed as starting at 8 p.m. local time on September 12, Apple now says "release information to be updated later."
The reason is that while Apple has stated that all three state-owned carriers support the new eSIM-only iPhone Air, that support remains "subject to regulatory approval."
China is one of the many countries around the world where physical SIM cards are still the norm. But not only did Apple believe it would release the iPhone Air there on schedule, the carrier China Mobile had announced the same thing — only to later remove that announcement.
Representatives of Apple reportedly told Chinese media that the company is "working closely with regulatory authorities to bring it to China as soon as possible". The specific authority in question is said to be the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Apple is also said to have told Chinese media that the approval was expected "very soon." However, it's not clear whether that was before or after whatever caused Apple to postpone its preorders.
