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The newest iPhones and the models that carry no SIM tray at all.
On the iPhone 16 and 17 generations the question has turned around. It is not whether the handset supports eSIM but whether it supports anything else. In a growing list of markets these models ship with no SIM tray at all, so every line is an eSIM by design. There is one country where the picture goes the other way, and it is worth knowing which.
Apple lists the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max and 16e bought in the United States as eSIM only. The same models bought outside the United States carry an eSIM and a nano-SIM tray. Both versions support eSIM identically; the difference is only whether a physical card is also possible.
The 16e sits in the same list as the rest of the generation: eSIM only when bought in the United States, eSIM plus tray elsewhere.
The eSIM only list widened with this generation. Apple names the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e and iPhone Air as eSIM only when bought in the United States, the US Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Guam, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar or Oman. Bought outside those twelve markets, the same models carry an eSIM and a nano-SIM tray.
Two iPhone 17 handsets with the same name can have different hardware. The one bought in Canada has no tray; the one bought in Germany does. Whichever it shipped with is what it keeps, wherever you take it afterwards.
Apple states that in China mainland, only the iPhone 17e and iPhone Air support eSIM. Every other iPhone sold there, including the rest of the 17 generation, does not. If a handset was bought in mainland China, this is the single most important thing to check before buying a travel plan, because a new and expensive iPhone can still be a nano-SIM only handset.
Settings, General, About, and look for an EID row. If there is no EID, there is no eSIM chip, regardless of how recent the model is.
Less than people expect, and in one respect it helps. The handset still runs two lines at once and still stores eight or more profiles, so your home number stays reachable while a travel plan carries data. What disappears is the fallback of buying a plastic SIM at the airport. That makes installing a travel plan before departure the plan rather than a convenience.
With no tray there is nothing to lose, nothing to swap in a taxi, and no need for a pin. Everything is done from settings, including switching between plans mid-trip.
If your destination is somewhere you specifically wanted a local physical SIM, check first whether that network sells eSIM. Most now do, but not all, and on an eSIM only handset it is the only route.
Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM. Scan the QR code from your plan or enter the activation code by hand. On an eSIM only handset this is also how a carrier line gets added, so the screen will be familiar. Install on wifi before you fly, then set the travel plan as the line for cellular data and switch data roaming on for that line only.
Leave your home line active for calls and messages, with its own data roaming switched off. Point cellular data at the travel plan. Both stay on together; only the data assignment changes.
On this generation, incompatibility is almost never the cause outside mainland China. A carrier lock is: the profile installs and then fails at activation, which happens on handsets bought on contract. An interrupted install is the other, and it leaves nothing behind at all.
Settings, General, About. It should read No SIM restrictions. Anything else means the network that sold the handset still restricts which networks it accepts, and a travel plan will not activate until they release it.
| Model | Bought in | SIM arrangement |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 16e | United States | eSIM only, no tray |
| iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 16e | Anywhere else | eSIM plus nano-SIM tray |
| iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e, iPhone Air | US, USVI, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Guam, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman | eSIM only, no tray |
| iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e, iPhone Air | Anywhere else | eSIM plus nano-SIM tray |
| Only iPhone 17e and iPhone Air | China mainland | eSIM supported |
| Every other iPhone | China mainland | No eSIM support |
Models bought in the United States do not, and every line on them is an eSIM. The same iPhone 16 bought outside the United States has both an eSIM and a nano-SIM tray.
In twelve markets, yes: the United States, the US Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Guam, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman. Bought anywhere else, the iPhone 17 keeps a nano-SIM tray alongside its eSIM.
Apple states that in China mainland only the iPhone 17e and iPhone Air support eSIM. Other iPhones sold there do not, however new they are, so check for an EID under Settings, General, About before buying a plan.
It is the Add eSIM option under Settings, Cellular. Either scan the code your plan came with or key in the activation details manually. On a handset with no tray this same screen is where carrier lines get added too, so it will look familiar.
The same path as the 16: Settings, Cellular, Add eSIM, then scan or type the code. Do it on wifi before you travel and leave the line switched off until you land.
Only if it was bought outside the twelve eSIM only markets. Those models keep a nano-SIM tray. Handsets from the eSIM only list have no tray, so every line has to be an eSIM.
Two active at the same time and eight or more stored, switched from Settings, Cellular. That is the same as earlier eSIM iPhones.
Not in practice. It runs two lines at once, keeps your home number reachable and takes a travel plan the same way. What it removes is the option of buying a plastic SIM on arrival, so the plan goes on before you fly.
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