Malcolm Owen
Apple may expand its removal of physical SIM card trays, with European iPhones possibly the next to lose the legacy technological element in the iPhone 15.
The introduction of the iPhone 14 forced millions of US iPhone users into using eSIMs instead of a physical SIM card. In a probable expansion of that design decision, Apple may make the same change for units bound for Europe.
According to sources of iGeneration, Apple stands to make the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro eSIM-only devices when they go on sale in France. Since Apple doesn't make a France-specific variant of the iPhone, such a design decision could instead apply to more countries across Europe.
Moving to eSIM only will provide Apple with some benefits, including possibly regaining internal space for other components, for example. There are potential waterproofing benefits as well.
This is not the first time the SIM tray removal rumor has surfaced. A rumor from December insisted that only eSIMs would be supported for more models.
However, it's likely that Apple will still offer iPhones with physical SIM capacity for a while longer. In China, rather than eSIM support, iPhones sold in the country have trays capable of holding two SIMs.
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22 Comments
When I got my iPhone 14 Pro, I visited my nearest o2 store to get an e-sim only to be told that they have “run out” of e-sims.
If they had supported transferring e-sims from my old phone to my new phone I wouldn’t have been in this situation…
This is going to happen to me every time I get a new iPhone.
Never saw a source for an eSIM at any border cross points of the seven southern African countries we visited driving overland. This sure screws international travel communications when going to the third would countries. Thus the need for my iPhone 13 mini with SIM card slot. At age 78 in les than two weeks, I expect the Mini will last long enough for any more international traveling I might hope to do.
Because an eSIM needs an input of information. Such equipment is not in place. A physical SIM card is take the old one out and insert the new one. Only tool needed is a pin to cause the sim tray to open.
It has been a BFD to swap cell service with Verizon every year since this eSim started. I have had to go up the food chain to very senior techs at Verizon just to get the latest top model of iPhone operational.
What happens if my iPhone dies out of country? There is no way to get the Verizon eSim re-enabled if I am in the UK where my wife's family resides.With a SIM card, it was instantaneous to bring a new replacement phone on line. Just swap the SIM card - a no-brainer.
My iPhone backs up to iCloud so it is simple to restore the "data" to a new phone, but the eSim is not a possible remote restore.
If one never leaves their home country, then this eSim issue is a moot issue. But as an international traveler it is a real issue.