Apple is at last doing away with the space saved through removing physical SIM trays and using it to accommodate larger batteries on most iPhone 17 models, a new leak has hinted. Information pulled from Chinese regulatory filings and shared by the leaker ShrimpApplePro point toward dual hardware paths: eSIM-only models with larger capacities for the likes of the US, and slightly smaller batteries for models that keep a SIM slot. As ever, treat the figures with caution — Apple has never released mAh ratings, and final numbers are typically only confirmed by regulatory databases and teardown labs.
How eSIM makes way for larger cells
Removing the SIM tray doesn’t simply disappear a small slot on the frame. It also allows saving of internal volume occupied by the SIM reader, shielding, gasket, and board routing. “As iFixit teardowns have always revealed, this assembly consumes a significant footprint [on] the midframe—valuable real estate that could otherwise accommodate a larger L-shaped battery, extra layers of thermal paste, or stronger structural support system,” the report said. Apple has already made the transition to eSIM only in the US with iPhone 14, and carrier support is expanding quickly; Apple’s own support documentation details over 400 carriers that offer eSIM service in more than 100 countries; and GSMA data points to the acceleration of eSIM adoption among operators globally.
What the leaked capacities indicate
This is led by the iPhone 17 Pro’s purported 4,252mAh pack in eSIM-only territories which is an 18% increase on the iPhone 16 Pro’s 3,582mAh cell. Markets that retain a SIM slot are reported to receive a 3,988mAh battery—bigger, but not as big as last year, and without the whole eSIM benefit.
While claims around the battery capacity of handsets aren’t anything new the iPhone 17 Pro Max is said to go from 4,685mAh on the 16 Pro Max to a 5,088mAh battery in regions that are eSIM only – an 8.6% jump in size. Another is the SIM-tray variant at 4,823mAh. For the regular iPhone 17, there’s the same documentation claim of a single 3,692mAh list (against a 3,561mAh listing for the iPhone 16). A slimmer iPhone 17 Air is rumored to compromise between thinness and capacity: 3,149mAh for eSIM-only and 3,036mAh for where there is a SIM slot.
These entries have been come through the China’s device certification pipeline, where a lot of times component capacities get referenced before launch. However, component suppliers, pack tolerances, and regional SKUs may change late in Manufacturing, so consider them as informational rather than definitive.
Real-world battery life improvements
Raw capacity is not the sole factor in achieving a longer runtime — but it helps. If Apple pairs these bigger cells with more efficient silicon and display drivers, the Pro and Pro Max may see significant increases in mixed-use endurance, particularly for heavy camera, navigation and 5G-oriented use-cases. In the past, efficiency gains have been Apple’s excuse for holding steady on battery life when adding new features; this time, the raw mAh jumps are significant enough, notably on the Pro models, that this time, it seems plausible that you might be in for more battery life, even if display brightness or camera performance increases in kind.
Thermal behavior matters, too. And a pack just a little bit larger (by a cell or more) would lower the stress peak per unit capacity, and help maintain performance under load. When combined with modem efficiency tuning and adaptive refresh rate strategies, the eSIM-only models are best placed to deliver the largest real-world gains.
Why some markets might still receive SIM trays
Physical SIMs are still a must in regions where eSIM provisioning is unreliable, in prepaid markets with snap swaps, or in places with regulatory and roaming patterns that favor physical cards. According to GSMA data, eSIM access is growing, but not everywhere. That’s why Apple has also been in possession of so many versions since the US went eSIM-only, trading off global carrier readiness against its internal design roadmap.
There are indications, however, that more areas are positioning themselves for eSIM scaling. Chatter within the industry points to broader eSIM training for support staff in some parts of Europe, and more carriers are activating digital profiles in seconds through QR codes or carrier apps. It’s good to know you could still end up with a phone that doesn’t force you to pull out a tray, and as onboarding gets better, the argument for the SIM tray doing the retention diminishes—and so, by extension, does the argument for smaller batteries everywhere.
The bottom line
If the leaked size sticks, after all the iPhone 17 range will end up making some use of the eSIM space saving, bringing the biggest capacity bump in the Pro and Pro Max. Tradeoffs: Less is more Fewer moving parts (and ports), more room for battery: This is a straightforward trade. For the power user and the traveler, that could be the most utilitarian upgrade of the year, more so in some markets where the SIM tray is gone for good.
