The era of physical SIM cards is coming to an end, mainly because physical SIM cards are being used e.g To replace, the main trend of eSIM is to avoid card replacement and prevent the risk of loss. Currently, Apple has also added eSIM to the iPhone SE 3 generation. At the same time, the iPhone 13 series supports dual eSIM design. It seems that Apple is actively promoting eSIM to replace physical SIM card design. , I believe that the iPhone will completely eliminate the physical SIM card slot soon.
There are various signs that Apple will prepare to unplug the old SIM card technology for the iPhone next, and will fully switch to eSIM instead of SIM. Soon, as a technology leader, Apple will once again lead the new direction of smart phones, and inform the world of eSIM with actions. It is a new mainstream. In the future, there is no need to obtain a physical SIM card through a telecom provider, and the eSIM mobile service can be activated directly by logging in to the app or scanning a QR code.
Apple has always adhered to the concept of the old technology being eliminated. From the original iPhone, it changed the 30-pin charging interface, canceled the 3.5 mm headphone jack in the iPhone 7, and subsequently removed the physical Home button on the main screen, replacing the physical Touch ID fingerprint with Face ID facial recognition. From the design, it can be seen that Apple is fast and accurate in its decision to eliminate the old technology for the iPhone. It is expected that the next step will be to cancel the physical SIM card design for the iPhone.
After the traditional “Mini SIM” card that can be put into the mobile phone came out in 1996, it was not until 2003 that the European telecommunications standard shortened the Mini SIM to “Micro SIM”, and it was used for the first time on Apple’s iPhone 4 mobile phone. In 2011, Apple Announced the proposal of the “Nano SIM” standard. After competition in 2012, it was finally recognized as the 4FF standard by the European Union, which also made Nano SIM the standard specification for SIM cards currently used in smart phones.
However, so far, the physical SIM card has many shortcomings. It is a bit troublesome to replace. It needs to use the ejection needle to withdraw the SIM card. Even the SIM is vulnerable to hacker attacks and is more likely to be tracked or used by criminals. The size of the mainstream Nano SIM is only 1.23 cm, it is easier to lose, and it may also face aging or corrosion.
Until the GSMA Association proposed a new generation of SIM card specification “eSIM” at the Mobile 360 Series Middle East Conference in 2014, and added the eSIM specification for smartphones in 2016, it has now become the mainstream specification of the new generation of SIM. The main purpose of eSIM is also to replace Nano SIM, and at the same time, it can solve many shortcomings of existing SIM, such as inconvenient card replacement, bad card, easy loss, security loophole, and difficulty in purchasing international travel.
Anthony Goonetilleke, president of eSIM software company Amdocs Technology Group, said that when a SIM vulnerability is discovered, security updates can be sent directly to millions of eSIM users around the world, which is difficult to do with physical SIM cards. In addition, eSIM cards have the advantage of being able to Allow customer NPs to switch to other telecommunications companies through Wi-Fi.
Even Apple is actively promoting eSIM services. First, the Apple Watch adopted the eSIM design for the first time in 2017. In 2018, it added the eSIM dual-card dual-standby function to the iPhone XS, XS Max and iPhone XR.
At the beginning of the year, GlobalData analyst Emma Mohr-McClune said,It’s only a matter of time before the iPhone has an eSIM, I believe Apple will get rid of the traditional SIM and fully transfer users to eSIM 。
Wall Street JournalAccording to the latest report, industry veterans have revealed that mobile phone makers do not need to reserve SIM card slot space to allow them to make better devices. Together with AT&T executives, eSIM is a natural evolution, and the customer experience will get better in the future.
Chinese telecomSupport for eSIM services has already been opened, but the Chinese iPhone 13 is designed with a physical dual SIM card, which cannot be supported without an eSIM chip, but other countries can purchase iPhone models in China for local eSIM services.
At present, eSIM is very popular in Europe and Asia. Together with the three major U.S. telecom companies T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, they all agree that the eSIM era is coming. Apple is also the first to support dual eSIM design (using two eSIMs at the same time) in the iPhone 13 series. It also retains a physical SIM card. Even the entry-level iPhone SE 3 also supports the eSIM design. It also supports the eSIM wireless transfer function in iOS 16. It shows that Apple intends to completely switch the iPhone to eSIM to replace the SIM card. The physical SIM card slot will be eliminated in the new iPhone, which can free up more internal space for the iPhone.