Yesterday, Apple announced its latest flagship smartphone series, the iPhone 17 Pro. The new iPhone 17 Pro series comes with a new brushed aluminum unibody design, the A19 Pro SoC, an upgraded camera system, and better battery life.
Apple first introduced eSIM support in iPhones with the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR in September 2018. These models were the first iPhones to feature dual SIM capability, with one physical nano-SIM and one eSIM. Since then, Apple has expanded eSIM support across newer models. Starting with the iPhone 14 lineup in the U.S., Apple even moved to eSIM-only models with no physical SIM slot.
Now, Apple has made the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max eSIM-only models in certain countries, including Bahrain, Canada, Guam, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the U.S., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These eSIM-only models of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max now feature an even larger battery, taking advantage of the space previously occupied by the physical SIM slot. Apple claims that these eSIM-only models offer two additional hours of video playback.
Official battery life claims for the iPhone 17 Pro series:
| Video playback | Video playback (Streamed) | |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 17 Pro eSIM-only | 33 hours | 30 hours |
| iPhone 17 Pro | 31 hours | 28 hours |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max eSIM-only | 39 hours | 35 hours |
| iPhone 17 Pro Max | 37 hours | 33 hours |
If you value battery life over physical SIM slot support, you may need to consider purchasing the iPhone 17 Pro series in the above-mentioned countries to enjoy approximately 5-7% better battery life.
In order to make the management of travel eSIMs easier, Apple has also streamlined the travel eSIM setup process in iOS 26, which is releasing next week to all eligible iPhones.