iPhone dual nanosim China versus Hong Kong - with or without esim?

[mackatt]

Does anyone know about the difference between an iPhone with dual nanosim from China and one from Hong Kong?
I was told that the physical dual nanosim iPhones from China only have 2 physical simcard slots,and no esim capability.
And that iPhones from Hong Kong have 2 physical simcard slots AND esim capability, so that you can have 2 physical simcards AND an esim active on the same phone though not at the same time.
Is this true?
Thanks!

 

[Raz0rEdge]

First, here is a list of the various SIM configurations on the iPhones.

Second, no iPhone has multiple physical SIM slots. There are phones that have eSim capabilties and those that don't.

You might be getting caught up with wording here. When folks refer to Dual SIM, they aren't referring to a type of SIM (regular, micro, nano, eSim, etc.) but rather that you can up to two SIMs (and thus two phone numbers) active at the same time to switch between.

 

[mackatt]

This is not exactly true.
iPhones from China and Hong Kong have 2 real physical nanosims, in a simtray with 2 sim slots.
I briefly had one of these phones - iPhone 14 Pro, with 2 physical sim cards.
It was a China model, and as far as I remember it did not have any esim capabilities, but I am not 100% sure.
I travel a lot for my work, and I understood that Hong Kong iPhones also have esim besides the 2 physical simcards. This would allow me to use 2 physical simcards + one esim; that is - 3 numbers, in one iPhone.
It would be highly useful for me.
This is why I opened the topic.
All the best!

 

[MacInWin]

This is not exactly true.
iPhones from China and Hong Kong have 2 real physical nanosims, in a simtray with 2 sim slots.
I briefly had one of these phones - iPhone 14 Pro, with 2 physical sim cards.
It was a China model, and as far as I remember it did not have any esim capabilities, but I am not 100% sure.
I travel a lot for my work, and I understood that Hong Kong iPhones also have esim besides the 2 physical simcards. This would allow me to use 2 physical simcards + one esim; that is - 3 numbers, in one iPhone.
It would be highly useful for me.
This is why I opened the topic.
All the best!

Probably a knock off, then. Apple says they don't make one in that configuration, and I think they should know!

 

[Raz0rEdge]

China is famous for knock offs. Are you sure you aren't looking at an Android phone which may look like an iPhone but isn't.

Anyway, as suggested by the Apple site, an iPhone can support 2 numbers. If you think you can find one that supports more, go for it.

 

[Rod]

What I can say regarding my iPhone 13 Pro Max is that it can take one physical SIM and store up to 4 eSIMS (I think) BUT only 2 can be active at the same time.
Later iPhone Models I have read can store up to 8 eSIM profiles but again only two active profiles at any one time.
At the moment I have a local physical Indonesian SIM and an Australian eSIM. Using my Aus mobile provider's Roaming Plan I can receive/send SMS from Aus while also receive/send SMS from Indonesia plus voice calls, mobile data and internet.
This overcame a problem I've had for years namely, receiving SMS OTP's (One Time Passwords) from Aus service providers who still insist on using this method of ID verification while maintaining my pre-paid card in Indonesia.

 

[MacInWin]

Here is Apple's article on eSIMs. Doesn't really say how many can be stored, but only two can be active at a time:

Using Dual SIM with an eSIM - Apple Support

Set up and use Dual SIM.

support.apple.com

Note that in footnote 1 it shows a separate article for Chinese iPhones:

Using Dual SIM with two nano-SIM cards - Apple Support

In China mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao, certain iPhone models feature Dual SIM with two nano-SIM cards. This gives you two phone numbers to make and receive calls and text messages.

support.apple.com

 

[Justin Lyu]

If iPhone support two physical nanoSIM, then it doesn't have eSIM capability. I.E China, HK, Macao
One physical nanoSIM and one model is be using in most countries. Only one eSIM can be turn on at same time.
Dual eSIM model is be only selling in US. No simtray, so it doesn't support any real physical SIM, but it can turn on two eSIM at same time.