News from the EU: Apple is getting rid of the physical SIM

Prior to the announcement of the iPhone 17, Apple began training Apple Store employees and authorised partners on eSIM, which led to a wave of rumours that the company would completely abandon the physical SIM card in Europe. This stage has already been passed in the US, so further eradication of the physical SIM in new regions looks more like a matter of time.

According to a new leak from Greece, Apple plans to remove the physical SIM slot only from the iPhone 17 Air model. This may mean that the rest of the models will still have a physical SIM card slot. The special position of the upcoming Air is due to purely physical limitations - it is easier to place a microscopic eSIM chip in an ultra-thin body than to give up space for a larger NanoSIM holder.

The announcement of the entire iPhone 17 line is expected on 9 September, so there's not much time to wait.