JD, CATL, GAC join forces

E‑COMMERCE giant JD.com announced Tuesday that it has partnered with Era Electric Service, a subsidiary of CATL, and GAC Group to introduce a new vehicle Nov. 9.

The model is a battery‑swappable version of the GAC Aion UT and will use CATL’s batteries and its “Chocolate” battery‑swap ecosystem. GAC will handle manufacturing, while JD.com will provide user insights, sales and service. The vehicle, priced between 100,000 yuan (US$14,036) and 120,000 yuan, will be sold exclusively through JD.com.

eSIM approved

CHINA’S three major telecom operators — China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom — announced Monday that they have received regulatory approval to begin commercial trials of eSIM smartphone services. An eSIM smartphone uses an embedded SIM (eSIM) instead of, or in addition to, a physical SIM card.

iPhone Air pre-order

TIM COOK, CEO of Apple, made a surprise appearance in the Apple Store livestream on Chinese short video platform Douyin on Monday, announcing the launch of its eSIM-only iPhone Air smartphones on the Chinese mainland. The device will be available for pre-order at 9 a.m. tomorrow. The announcement confirms that the iPhone Air has cleared its final hurdle for the Chinese mainland market, paving the way for domestic smartphone industry to embrace the eSIM era.