Unicom to Begin Smartphone eSIM Support in 3Q 2025—What Does This Means for eSIM Hardware and RSP Service Providers?

China is finally opening up to the Embedded Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM) for smartphones, with a staggered launch expected from China Unicom—an experienced eSIM provider for wearables in the region. In keeping with the approach applied for eSIM wearables in 2017, deployment will first roll out in as yet unconfirmed Tier One and Tier Two cities, with the first cities expected to begin support in 3Q 2025. A nationwide launch is expected to follow in 2026. The first wave of integration is expected to be primarily restricted to flagship models, with mid-range devices following.

eSIM has been available for wearables in China for years, starting with the Apple Watch 3 in 2017, but initial adoption was marred by Mobile Network Operator (MNO) licensing processes. Apple was forced to offer refunds when a failure by the MNO to gain approval for a full license meant devices sold on a brief probationary license lost support. Even more caution has been applied for the smartphone market, disallowing eSIM until an approved approach could be nailed down. Finally, we have it—dual SIM will be mandated, combining eSIM with a removable Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). While this model is a far cry from the seismic market shift of Apple going eSIM-only in the United States, it does mark the end of the last holdout against eSIM and opens up a large consumer market.

With lessons learned from the challenged wearable rollout, China Unicom is in a strong position to drive adoption. The standing question is once eSIM is available in Chinese smartphones, will it be used and how? The dual SIM model makes it likely that the familiar removable SIM will continue to be the primary choice for users in the immediate future, with eSIM used for secondary connections, limiting the impact primarily to hardware availability for the short term.

The opportunity for eSIM Integrated Circuit (IC) manufacturers will be staggered, with integration taking time to move from flagship devices to the rest of the product range. Chinese smartphone Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) already have a familiarity with eSIM. vivo, HONOR, Xiaomi, and Huawei already have flagship eSIM smartphones in the market, originally integrated to help with appeal in Western markets.

There is little question that the market for eSIM hardware within Chinese smartphones will likely be dominated by local chip manufacturers such as TMC and CEC Huada Electronic Design Co., Ltd (HED). China is a cost-sensitive market, so a diverse product portfolio will be required to address the needs of low, mid, and flagship devices. Flexibility in form factors will be key to widespread penetration, with the need to offer stacked chips in myriad cost-effective combinations.

The Subscription Manager Data Preparation Plus (SM-DP+) provisioning opportunity is expected to be dominated by key local players, with the advantage of having observed the trajectory of Remote SIM Provisioning (RSP) in the rest of the global market. This has been characterized by an increasing drive for flexibility both in business processes and technical capacity. While the Chinese vendors will have the initial assurances of constrained MNO partnerships and regional availability requirements, they should plan now for forthcoming scalability challenges. Western SM-DP+ vendors have responded to these challenges with a move to cloud-based solutions, offering more agility.

For China Unicom, the key challenge is in encouraging users to make use of eSIM availability, either as a redundancy or secondary connection, or even eventually as the primary connection. For those exposed to the troubled wearable launch, there is a need to win back trust by demonstrating a reliable and robust service in the early stages. Just as for the rest of the world, it will be crucial for the operator to offer attractive pricing models to encourage users to trial the connection and seamless integration with the heavily technologized environment—especially in major cities. City-dwelling Chinese consumers rely heavily on their mobile device and its cellular connection, so there is extremely limited margin for error. However, a successful launch of eSIM in China could modernize a high-priority ecosystem and expose new opportunities for growth when looking to expand and reuse new RSP capabilities outside of China, particularly within Latin America, Africa, and certain segments of Southeast Asia.