Foldable iPhone tipped to drop SIM slot as Apple pushes ultra-thin design

Apple’s first foldable iPhone is shaping up to be a major design experiment, and the latest leak suggests the company is ready to make a bold connectivity decision. According to a well-known Chinese leaker posting on Weibo, the upcoming foldable will ship without a physical SIM card slot, relying solely on eSIM technology.
Reports point to a launch either late next year or early 2027. The device, widely referred to as the iPhone Fold, is expected to feature a compact 5.5-inch outer screen and a book-style layout that opens to a roughly 7.8-inch inner display. Early descriptions compare it to a miniature iPad, while Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has previously called it “super thin” and a genuine design breakthrough. With internal space at a premium, removing the SIM tray seems inevitable.
The leak from Instant Digital lines up with earlier signals from Gurman and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. However, it also underlines an awkward truth: eSIM still isn’t universally beloved. On mainland China in particular, users strongly prefer physical SIM cards and dual-SIM flexibility, especially given the country’s fast-moving resale culture and the ease of swapping SIMs when trialling devices. An eSIM-only iPhone Fold would depend heavily on flawless carrier provisioning.
Apple has already experienced these pain points. The iPhone Air moved to an eSIM-only design for similar space constraints and requires dedicated support from China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom. Even then, activation still involves an in-store visit. Globally, iPhone Air sales have lagged expectations, with many buyers more concerned about the downsides — shorter battery life and the single rear camera — than its thin profile. In China, the lack of a physical SIM almost certainly contributed to slower uptake.
Apple is reportedly preparing several headline-grabbing features to help the foldable stand out, including a 24-megapixel under-display camera and a crease-free inner panel. Whether those innovations can offset the practical concerns around eSIM-only usage remains a major question, especially in markets where physical SIMs are still the default.