In 2009, China Unicom introduced the first-generation iPhone, ushering in the era of 3G smartphones in China. On October 23, 2026, at its Xidan business hall, Apple's first pure eSIM foldable iPhone Duo launched its initial sales here. This reunion spanning 17 years also marked the one-year anniversary of the domestic commercial trial of eSIM-enabled phones. At this "eSIM Reunion" launch carnival, Chen Fengwei, Deputy General Manager of China Unicom Huasheng Company, was interviewed by a reporter from MIIT Smart Media (Communications World). He reviewed the industry performance over the past year of the eSIM commercial trial, interpreted the industrial transformation behind the debut of the iPhone Duo, and outlined the long-term roadmap for the symbiosis of eSIM with AI, agents, and IoT.
Seventeen years ago, the 186 number segment and physical SIM cards brought the mobile internet to the palms of domestic users. Seventeen years later, a new cardless, purely digital-identity eSIM foldable device has appeared. Communication connectivity has evolved from a single physical card into a digital capability that can be remotely provisioned, securely controlled, and flexibly deployed with terminals. In Chen Fengwei's view, this is not merely a hardware trade-off but a fundamental shift in the connectivity paradigm.
01. eSIM Shifts from "Optional" to "Mandatory" for Flagship Phones
It has been a full year since China Unicom launched the commercial trial of eSIM phone operational services last September. According to Chen Fengwei's assessment, the pace of progress over the past year has fully met expectations.
"To judge whether a new technology can take off, the first thing to look at is whether terminal adoption keeps up," said Chen Fengwei. Within just one year, major domestic smartphone brands have reached a consensus. Leading manufacturers such as Apple, Huawei, Samsung, Lenovo, OPPO, and vivo have gradually integrated eSIM into their new products. eSIM is no longer an optional configuration for phones but a standard feature on flagship models. Currently, China Unicom supports nearly 30 eSIM-compatible models, covering different brands and solutions. These include pure eSIM, cardless devices like the iPhone Duo, as well as hybrid solutions combining physical SIM and eSIM, catering to the transition needs of various users.
Domestic shipments of eSIM-enabled phones reached approximately 1 million units in the first half of 2026. With the concentrated launch of flagship models from major brands in September, eSIM phone shipments are expected to exceed 20 million units in the second half of the year, providing strong momentum for domestic eSIM business growth.
On the other side, service processes for users continue to be refined. China Unicom's offline stores now achieve eSIM activation in about 3 minutes. Additionally, resident service personnel have been deployed at Apple Direct Stores and APR authorized stores to lower the barrier for user adoption. In Chen Fengwei's view, the essence of eSIM is digitizing the physical SIM medium. It offers not only greater convenience in processing but also unique advantages in security. The deep binding of digital identity with the terminal shortens the security control chain, better safeguarding users' communication and information security.
Regarding pain points of concern to users, such as device migration, number recovery, and dual-SIM standby, Chen Fengwei candidly stated that the current phase remains a commercial trial, with features being opened up progressively. "We always prioritize network security and information security, advancing business operations at a prudent and orderly pace." He noted that annual sales of domestic smartphones are approximately 270 million units, while the share of eSIM-supported models currently stands at only about 10%. As the penetration rate of eSIM-capable terminals continues to rise, convenient features such as device migration, one-click online processing, and multi-eSIM management will be gradually unlocked according to schedule, allowing sufficient time for the industry and users to adapt.
02. IoT, Satellite IoT, and AI Agents Represent a Larger Blue Ocean
The debut of the pure eSIM foldable iPhone Duo has focused public attention on the smartphone sector. However, in Chen Fengwei's industrial blueprint, smartphones are merely the first stop for eSIM; the larger market lies in IoT and the approaching agent-based era.
The characteristics of eSIM—no need for insertion/removal and remote profile writing—make it naturally suitable for consumer IoT and industrial IoT devices, offering particularly prominent advantages in satellite IoT scenarios. Many satellite terminals are deployed in remote areas with harsh environments. Physical card slots represent potential failure points, and card replacement and maintenance costs are extremely high. eSIM mitigates reliability risks associated with physical contact and enables remote configuration and updates, serving as a critical foundation for the scaled deployment of satellite IoT.
A more imaginative variable is AI. China Unicom proposed the direction of "AI-Native Connectivity." In Chen Fengwei's judgment, the convergence of eSIM and AI is not a single technical upgrade but a new ecosystem born from the intersection of multiple technological waves. "In the internet era, losing connection means losing contact; in the AI era, losing connection means losing intelligence." For AI agents to continuously complete tasks and interact externally, they require stable, always-available cellular connectivity. eSIM serves as the communication ID for these agents. In the future, beyond the 1.8 billion mobile users connected via human networks and billions of traditional IoT devices, massive numbers of agents will require independent communication capabilities. This will constitute the next vast connectivity market.
The foldable iPhone Duo happens to be a concrete carrier of this trend. Over 17 years, terminals have evolved from feature phones to smartphones, and from small-screen phones to large-screen foldables, with computing power steadily increasing. The industry has progressed from3G mobile internet through 5G and AI internet to the agent era. The unfolded foldable screen offers an interaction experience close to that of a PC, making it ideal for handling complex agent tasks. Although many apps are not yet fully optimized for foldable screens, as pure eSIM foldable terminals become widespread, the application ecosystem will rapidly catch up, driving the popularization of mobile AI agents.
03. Core Competencies of Operator Terminal Companies Have Been Reconstructed
Looking back at the evolution of China Unicom's terminal business over 17 years, Chen Fengwei believes that the business model of terminal companies is undergoing a fundamental change. In the early days, the core of terminal companies was trade distribution, relying on price differences between purchase and sale, essentially simple hardware circulation. Entering the AI era, the logic has been completely rewritten.
As the terminal company under China Unicom, Huasheng Company's positioning is no longer just "selling phones" but providing integrated computing-network services to users. Hardware, communication connectivity, computing resources, and AI agent services are packaged into integrated product bundles delivered to users. The "Duo Choice" benefits accompanying the iPhone Duo launch include AI token resources. Users purchasing new devices directly obtain computing resources supporting agent operations, representing a practical implementation of this new model.
This imposes entirely new requirements on the terminal team's capabilities. Success is no longer determined solely by channel strength and supply sources; resource integration, AI operation, and service solution design have become core barriers to entry. Internally, Huasheng Company is using AI to transform its entire operational process, leveraging office agents to reshape business chains and adapting the organization to the AI-native era.
Chen Fengwei stated that operators have consistently rooted themselves in building communication infrastructure for many years, now extending to computing networks. This long-term construction is akin to a "Long March," and the terminal business represents the frontline touchpoint where computing-network capabilities reach ordinary consumers.
04. The Foundation of Technological Iteration Remains User Trust
At the launch event, veteran users from the first batch of China Unicom iPhone customers in 2009 attended, marking the most touching moment of the activity. Liu Xinling, the first person to reserve online back then, stayed up until midnight to submit her order and received certificate number 001. Over 17 years, she has changed ten phones but kept her 186 number, and today she became one of the first recipients of the iPhone Duo.
Chen Fengwei reflected emotionally that he participated in the launch work for the first-generation iPhone at the World Trade Center Escalade 17 years ago. Users who were strangers then have become old friends in the industry. This was also the original intention behind China Unicom planning this exclusive launch for veteran users: When the first-generation iPhone was hard to get, many users had to queue or pay premiums to buy one. This time, China Unicom specifically reserved purchasing eligibility for these earliest pioneers, allowing old friends to prioritize receiving Apple's first eSIM foldable iPhone Duo.
"The best marketing is marketing without marketing," he said. In his view, user recognition never relies on rhetoric but returns to the product and service itself. The sharing by veteran users comes from the heart and requires no rehearsal, precisely demonstrating that beneath the waves of technological iteration lies long-accumulated user trust. Seventeen years ago, a smartphone changed the work and life of a generation; seventeen years later, eSIM + AI + foldable terminals are initiating a new round of transformation.
Looking ahead, Chen Fengwei stated that China Unicom will continue to enrich its eSIM terminal matrix, refine service processes, and expand IoT and agent scenarios. When eSIM, ubiquitous connectivity, and native AI deeply integrate, the next seventeen years will see the communication industry continuing to grow new possibilities.
Editor/Layout: Sun Tian
Proofreader: Mei Yaxin
Supervisor: Liu Qicheng