TECH NEWS – A bigger battery? It’s possible, but something has to be sacrificed in exchange, which is still common in smartphones today.

Apple has long been nudging its users toward a particular kind of utopia—even if it means giving up familiar features. First it was the headphone jack, then the Lightning connector, and now the SIM card tray, which the Cupertino company wants to eliminate entirely. With the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple seems to have found a clever way to speed things up: enticing buyers with a larger battery if they choose the eSIM version.

The iPhone 17 Pro with a physical SIM tray comes with a battery capacity of about 3,988 mAh, but the eSIM model bumps that up to roughly 4,252 mAh. The iPhone 17 Pro Max sees a similar jump: 4,823 mAh with a SIM tray versus 5,088 mAh for the eSIM version. This translates to about one extra hour of use, whether you’re watching videos, gaming, or browsing the web.

Apple could have kept the battery capacity the same, but instead it quietly chose to reward eSIM buyers with something universally appealing. It’s a subtle yet powerful incentive, steering customers toward eSIM adoption without spelling it out. For Apple, it’s also a decisive step, putting pressure on carriers that still cling to physical SIM cards.

In the United States, SIM trays were already gone with the iPhone 14. But implementing this strategy globally is much trickier, as it could risk sales declines in markets where carriers don’t yet fully support eSIM. Still, it’s clear that Apple envisions an iPhone future that’s entirely eSIM, and the company is willing to sweeten the deal to get there.

For users, this compromise could be a win, since the slightly bigger battery is one of the best “bribes” Apple could offer.

Source: WCCFTech