UK iPhone 17 Pro/Pro Max – eSIM-Only Availability and Battery Differences

i own the 16 pro max which is a 4685mAh and the 17 pro max with sim is 4823 mAh and without is 5088 mAh which i think is a great improvement i would like the best improvement i don't think thats much to ask for.

Then tell Apple. This is a user to user only forum. The battery is a tad larger in the 17 Pro Max even in a UK variant, but there is only so much space to put the battery in. So it is what it is. In real world use, it won't really make much of a difference. It will still have an all day battery and then some. And with the new A19 Pro chip, more CPU and GPU Cores and significantly increased RAM, the new phones will run cooler, faster and should last longer on a charge.

If you want to complain to Apple about this, use this link --> Feedback - iPhone - Apple

BobMcBurger wrote:

Buying a phone because of the battery is a completely valid reason, especially when you’re paying over a grand for it, and it doesn’t ignore all the other features the device offers.

Dismissing the slightly smaller battery on the UK models as trivial ignores that you could be getting an inferior device simply because of your region. People are entitled to consider specs like battery size when deciding whether an upgrade is worth it.

Of course people are entitled to consider and actually should consider specs when deciding to upgrade. If it's not worth the upgrade to you, that's fine. I don't care if you upgrade or don't upgrade. I'm simply suggesting the difference in real world use will be negligible and there are other notable upgrades the new phones offer over the current generation. But just like I posted above, if you aren't pleased about the battery in a UK variant, complain to Apple and I even provided a link you can use. Complaining to other users on a user to user only forum, gets you nothing.

Hello,

I was also planning to upgrade from a 16 PM to a 17 PM UK model. Only to find out the battery size is not the same as the US version and other selected countries due to being an ESIM only model.

Yet the IPhone Air is ESIM only and can be purchased in the UK.

Can someone please explain this?

Deputy_D wrote:

Hello,

I was also planning to upgrade from a 16 PM to a 17 PM UK model. Only to find out the battery size is not the same as the US version and other selected countries due to being an ESIM only model.

Yet the IPhone Air is ESIM only and can be purchased in the UK.

Can someone please explain this?

No, no one here can explain this. This is a user to user only forum, which no one from Apple participates. As users only, none of whom work for or have any connection to Apple, we are not privy to why Apple chooses to do anything. I can guess why and that would be the iPhone 17 Air is so thin, that putting in a dedicated SIM Card slot would have removed too much space, which a phone that thin needs for a battery which can provide enough power to for all day use. But that's just my guess. I'm willing to bet it's a pretty good guess, though.

Apple decided to save the space on the iPhone Air to make the unit smaller, and so they could put in a larger battery on the Canadian and USA models; in general, they do what they think will be more important to customers in any given market.

(261282)

The end of the last comment from lobsterghost1 looks like this on my screen.

I cannot see a number or brackets here. Can you please post a screenshot of what you see regarding a number and brackets on your screen?

From the Technical Specifications on Apple's U.S. Web site:

• iPhone 17 Air. Video playback: Up to 27 hours / Up to 22 hours (streamed)
• iPhone 17 Pro. Video playback: Up to 33 hours / Up to 30 hours (streamed)
• iPhone 17 Pro Max. Video playback: Up to 39 hours / Up to 35 hours (streamed)
• iPhone 17 Air with iPhone Air MagSafe battery. Video playback: Up to 40 hours / Up to 35 hours (streamed)

From the Technical Specifications on Apple's U.K. Web site:

• iPhone 17 Air. Video playback: Up to 27 hours / Up to 22 hours (streamed)
• iPhone 17 Pro. Video playback: Up to 31 hours / Up to 28 hours (streamed)
• iPhone 17 Pro Max. Video playback: Up to 37 hours / Up to 33 hours (streamed)
• iPhone 17 Air with iPhone Air MagSafe battery. Video playback: Up to 40 hours / Up to 35 hours (streamed)

BobMcBurger wrote:

Buying a phone because of the battery is a completely valid reason, especially when you’re paying over a grand for it, and it doesn’t ignore all the other features the device offers.

Dismissing the slightly smaller battery on the UK models as trivial ignores that you could be getting an inferior device simply because of your region. People are entitled to consider specs like battery size when deciding whether an upgrade is worth it.

You have presumably been content with the situation for the last three or four years since iphone 14 was the first iphone to be eSIM-only in the States but dual SIM here in UK.

This is a non argument, but if you want an eSIM-only phone then I understood that the 17 Air is eSIM-only worldwide (someone tell me if i’m wrong)

LD150 wrote:

This is a non argument, but if you want an eSIM-only phone then I understood that the 17 Air is eSIM-only worldwide (someone tell me if i’m wrong)

Your understanding is correct.

Introducing iPhone Air, a powerful new iPhone with a breakthrough design - Apple

"iPhone Air features an eSIM-only design that saves space internally, helping enable the unbelievably light and thin form factor."

You r paying the same price but you get a physical sim tray. I wont buy any phone without that. Esim only phone are ridiculous. Imagine having to make a phone call to the operator if i want to change the sim to another phone i have, each and every time!

portair wrote:

You r paying the same price but you get a physical sim tray. I wont buy any phone without that. Esim only phone are ridiculous. Imagine having to make a phone call to the operator if i want to change the sim to another phone i have, each and every time!

I suspect most people don't need to do that very often.