iPhone 17 orders are already being delayed, as iPhone Air reportedly postponed in China
Apple kicked off pre-orders for the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air just a couple of hours ago, and the popularity of these new devices seems to be causing some trouble for retailers. At least, that’s what we’re hearing from China. We already knew ahead of launch that the iPhone Air’s eSIM-only design could be a problem for the region, given a lack of support for the form factor.
In addition to problems with Apple’s thinnest iPhone in China, there are also reports of delays from consumers related to the mainline series, including the flagship iPhone 17 Pro Max. So far, listings in the U.S. and UK are unchanged.
iPhone Air release has been postponed in China, among other delays
Reports from Apple analyst Mark Gurman say the iPhone Air has been delayed in mainland China “over regulatory issues,” which likely stem from compatibility issues with eSIM. The main iPhone 17 series still comes with a physical SIM card slot in the region, though Apple has slowly been making more regions eSIM-only for these too (this was previously only the case in the U.S.).
In addition to the news from Bloomberg’s Gurman, we can also see reports of delays from consumers in the region. User @VNchocotaco on X reports that the iPhone 17 Pro Max has already been delayed. Although it hasn’t been completely postponed like the iPhone Air, the release date has slipped to between September 24 and 27, rather than the 19th of the month that Apple continues to advertise – and can be seen on retailer listings in the West.
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Like we said above, it seems like – so far – there are no problems with pre-orders in the United States, but we’ll keep a close eye on things moving forward to see if anything changes. At the time of writing, the official Apple storefront continues to list the new 2025 models with a September 19th release date.
