It's time for the iPhone 17 to completely get rid of the SIM tray.

The upcoming launch of the iPhone 17 Air could be a crucial turning point in the process of removing SIM cards from phones.

More and more smartphones are removing the SIM card slot. Photo: Digital Trends .

In the US market, Apple has removed the physical SIM card slot from the last three generations of iPhones, replacing it with eSIM. With the upcoming iPhone 17 Air, many reports suggest that the product sold in all markets will be SIM-free.

Google has also followed Apple's lead in removing the SIM slot from the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL models sold in the US. In the future, many more manufacturers will continue to completely replace physical SIM cards with eSIMs on smartphones.

Transition period

Mobile phone SIM cards have gone through many stages, from the first generation of SIMs with a standard size of 85.6 x 53.98 mm. Over time, this component has gradually shrunk to the mini-SIM, then micro-SIM, and now nano-SIM, which is present in most phones released in the last 10 years.

Upon its launch, eSIM promised a global standard, making it easy for users to activate a new SIM card when traveling to a different country. Alliances within the mobile industry committed to eSIM ushering in a new era, allowing SIM card transfers from one phone to another or between networks with just a few taps.

In reality, eSIMs are much more complex now. Most major carriers globally offer eSIM services, but not all support eSIMs for prepaid customers.

There are still many obstacles to using eSIM. Photo: Digital Trends.

Some carriers require users to contact customer service, download an app to activate their SIM cards, or follow other complicated procedures. Even for postpaid subscribers, the SIM card switching process is not as simple as promised.

Transferring eSIMs between phones presents similar challenges. Some carriers offer quick support, while others require software intervention or some form of registration.

For eSIM to become the future standard for mobile connectivity, there is still much work to be done. Mobile operators need to set aside their own interests to build a global eSIM standard that is widely compatible and supported.

Advantages and future of eSIM

The most obvious advantage of eSIMs over physical SIMs is the number of options. Users can configure 4-5 eSIMs simultaneously on their phone, whereas the number of physical SIMs supported on a phone is usually 2 or 3.

Another advantage is that eSIM doesn't require an additional slot on the device, reducing the number of components and saving space in smartphones, which are becoming increasingly cramped over time, prompting manufacturers to find ways to optimize space.

eSIM could become the future of mobile connectivity. Photo: Digital Trends.

The current problem with eSIM stems from the existence of both a physical SIM slot and an eSIM slot on the same device. If eSIM were made standard, completely eliminating the physical SIM, the obstacles related to incompatibility and difficulty in switching would also be resolved, as all carriers worldwide would use eSIM.

Such a drastic move would force the global mobile industry to quickly adopt an eSIM standard, focusing not only on maximizing revenue for each carrier but also on helping them attract new customers.

However, it's possible that the short-term future of mobile SIMs will remain as it is currently, encompassing both physical SIMs and eSIMs. The transition to eSIMs remains hesitant in many countries, making the idea of ​​a global standard still quite distant.

Source: https://znews.vn/da-den-luc-iphone-17-bo-han-khay-sim-post1580285.html