In the US, ever since the iPhone 14 family, Apple’s smartphones have lacked a physical SIM card slot, instead relying on eSIM. The company hasn’t removed the physical slot anywhere else so far, but that may change with the iPhone 17 generation.
According to “a source familiar with the matter”, retail employees at Apple Authorized Resellers across the EU are required to complete a training course related to iPhones with eSIM support by September 5. That timing is telling since the iPhone 17 launch event is taking place only four days later on September 9.
This will be just a memory if the rumors are correct
So this could very well mean that Apple has removed the physical SIM card slot from the iPhone 17 models that will be sold in the EU as well, hence the need to train retail employees to deal with eSIM activations.
The training information is allegedly available in Apple’s SEED app, which is used by employees at both Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers around the world. This leaves open the possibility for the removal of the physical SIM slot to happen worldwide.
That sort of move has already been rumored for the iPhone 17 Air, due to its extreme slimness, but it might also apply to the rest of the family, with some specific exceptions, perhaps, like China.