LL/A, ZA/A and CH/A in an Apple part number

The part number, for example MG8G4ZA/A, describes the configuration: storage, colour, market. The model number, for example A3523, describes the hardware: SIM tray, eSIM, network bands.

Apple uses the region-letter scheme in its own documentation: J/A for Japan and LW/A or LS/A for the US on its Apple Watch page, and MGDN4xx/A for MacBook Pro, where xx is the country code.

The first letter of the part number separates a new device from a refurbished unit or a service replacement. See the article on checking whether an iPhone is genuine.

Settings → General → About, the Model Number row. It shows the part number with the region letters. A tap switches it to the model number starting with A.

The model number is also engraved on the body: inside the SIM tray slot on iPhones with a tray, and inside the USB-C port, on the display side, on iPhones without a tray and some iPads.

On a sealed box the same part number is on the label. The box and Settings match down to the last letter.

• Mac. Holding Option: Apple menu → System Information → Hardware, the Model Number row with the region code.
• Apple Watch. The Watch app on iPhone → My Watch → General → About. It first shows the number starting with M, and the A number after a tap.
• AirPods. Settings show only the model number starting with A, which is also printed on the underside of each earbud, or under the left cushion on AirPods Max. The region code is on the box only.

Compiled from open tables and sellers’ catalogues; Apple has no document listing these codes. Some codes changed with iPhone 17.

• LL/A — United States. Sometimes also units for Canada and service replacements.
• ZA/A — Hong Kong and Macao on iPhone 17 and later. In older tables ZA/A is Singapore.
• ZP/A — Hong Kong and Macao on earlier generations. On iPhone 17 the code is listed for Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan.
• CH/A — mainland China.
• AH/A, AB/A, AE/A — the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. Apple Stores in the UAE and Saudi Arabia sell 2025⁠–⁠2026 iPhones as AH/A, and Macs and iPads as AB/A. AE/A for iPhone shows up in older tables.
• J/A — Japan. KH/A — South Korea. HN/A — India.
• B/A — the UK and Ireland. On iPhone 17 a new code, QN/A, is reported for the UK.
• ZD/A — Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg and neighbouring countries.
• X/A — Australia and New Zealand; on iPhone 17 also Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
• C/A and VC/A — Canada. TU/A — Türkiye. E/A — Mexico.

One region code covers several countries, and a country can change codes two or three times in a few years: ZA/A means different things on iPhone 15 and iPhone 17. Model numbers, by contrast, are published by Apple itself, by country.

• iPhone 17: A3258 — US; A3519 — Japan, Canada, Mexico, the UAE and the Gulf; A3521 — mainland China; A3520 — other countries.
• iPhone 18 Pro: A3472 — US; A3713 — Japan, Canada, Mexico, the UAE and the Gulf; A3715 — mainland China; A3714 — the rest.
• Example: iPhone 17 C/A (Canada) and iPhone 17 AH/A (UAE) — different letters, the same A3519, both eSIM only.

SIM: a nano-SIM tray plus eSIM, eSIM only, or two nano-SIMs, by model number. Per Apple, Apple Intelligence doesn’t work on devices purchased in mainland China. Versions compared by SIM are in the article on iPhone versions.

A supplier’s stock in Dubai or Hong Kong holds versions for several markets, and they end up mixed in one shipment. So for iPhones we put the full part number of every line in the order, not just “iPhone 17 Pro 256 GB”, plus the SIM setup in words. At acceptance the letters on the box labels are compared with the order.