iPhone 17 Air Drops Physical SIM Slot Globally, Pushing eSIM-Only Future

Apple's newly launched iPhone Air will ship globally without physical SIM card slots. The move follows the company previously eliminating SIM trays in US models starting in 2022.

Global consultancy firm Roland Berger forecasts eSIM connections will reach 75% of smartphone connections by 2030, rising from 10% in 2023. CCS Insight predicts eSIM-capable handsets will increase from 1.3 billion to 3 billion by 2030. Google offers eSIM-only Pixel 10 models in the US.

Pointless

[DrXym]

If they have space for a USB C then they have space for a SIM. That said I like e-SIMs for their convenience and don't really care if they disappear. But the iPhone Air itself is clearly a gimped device which will be difficult to repair and so fragile that people will put it in a case negating any reason for it to be thin in the first place. I'm sure some fools will drop cash for this thing, common sense be damned.

Re:

[teg]

If they have space for a USB C then they have space for a SIM. That said I like e-SIMs for their convenience and don't really care if they disappear. But the iPhone Air itself is clearly a gimped device which will be difficult to repair and so fragile that people will put it in a case negating any reason for it to be thin in the first place. I'm sure some fools will drop cash for this thing, common sense be damned.

I'm not sure I understand why having space for A means that you also have space for B? You need the USB C port for charging - and in some cases connection. A SIM tray holder with surrounding electronics takes additional space, and it's not strictly needed as eSIM is a viable alternative. The phone is not for me - I'm keeping my current phone until 29, and "thinner" is not a tradeoff I'd make in this case anyway - but I do see them need for removing anything they possibly can to achieve it.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

my phone is thin, has a headphone jack, SD card slot, dual sim trays removable battery and runs all the software I need i guess ill need a new one when 4g is phased out

Re:

[saloomy]

Just curious, why are eSims a downgrade in any way from a SIM card? From my understanding, the SIM card is only useful as an identifier, which the Secure Element in an iPhone should be able to secure just as easily? SIM cards do not play a role in antenna function, as one person I knew thought they did back in the day, when the whole NANO-SIM thing came out. Why are eSims worse than SIM cards, since they dont take any space and that space can be used to make the phone battery bigger, or improve in the IP ra

Re: Pointless

[Anamon]

A major one I know about is that they're tied to the device. You can't change your SIM to a cheaper phone for going on vacation, or swap it with a replacement if you lost or broke your phone. Every switch means having to ask your provider to provision a new SIM.

Re:

[bn-7bc]

I bet cell providers can't wait fir physical things to die. No sim cards to supply, ok the will beed to have backend systems to provision the esims but no supply lines for physical sims, and no need to mail out sims to people, ie a new costumer can start earning them revenue aas soon as the number is ported ( at least here in Norway that's the next business day) no need to wait for snail mail distribution which can be 4 business days)

Re:

[wagnerer]

It's just another step in eliminating all penetrations that can possibly introduce water into the system. First was speakers/mics, next was buttons, and now SIM slot. Only thing left now is the USB C port which I'm sure is next on the plate.

Re:

[MacMann]

It's just another step in eliminating all penetrations that can possibly introduce water into the system. First was speakers/mics, next was buttons, and now SIM slot. Only thing left now is the USB C port which I'm sure is next on the plate.

That's also removing the parts that move and so could wear out, which should make them more durable. Keeping out water certainly helps with durability, removing buttons and ports means fewer moving parts that could wear out and adds more to durability.

I'm concerned that the USB-C port on my iPad could wear out given how often I'm plugging in different things. One thing that relieves some of that stress is knowing that there's a contact connector on the back that allows for connecting to the keyboard cover

Re:

[DrXym]

I think most people including the most diehard Apple fans would still prefer their phone can be charged rapidly from a cable, or plug peripherals into it. Besides, it would likely be illegal to sell a phone without USB-C in Europe even if it could charge wirelesslessly.

Also just because a device has a USB-C port doesn't mean it can't be IP67 or IP68 rated. A lot of mobile phones including some iPhones are IP68 rated which means you could drop them down the toilet or into a swimming pool and potentially th

Re:

[DrXym]

What I mean is the thinness of the device has no bearing on whether it can accommodate a SIM or not and a USB requires more space than a nano SIM would. It more sounds like an excuse to remove SIM support and see if they can get away with it.

Re:

[Kisai]

I think people forgot the entire point of the SIM card was so that you were not locked into a carrier. Once that sim card physically goes away, so does your ability to switch carriers and use cheaper sim's in countries you travel to.

Re:

[test321]

You can get a cheaper eSIM from the country you travel to. You go to the local operator, request an eSIM, instead of a physical chip they sell you a QR code; reading it switches to their network. When back home you switch back to your original provider by reading again your initial QR code.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

You don't even need to do that. Modern iPhones (13 and higher) support up to 8 eSIMs loaded on the phone at a time. Two of them can even be active at the same time (e.g. if you want to have both personal + business, home + travel, etc.).

Has anyone on this thread ever even used eSIMs on an iPhone?

Re:Pointless

[Powercntrl]

Has anyone on this thread ever even used eSIMs on an iPhone?

Yeah. They're a pain in the ass if you intend to regularly swap your service between different phones. To be clear, I'm not talking about using different wireless services on a single phone (E.g. traveling to Europe and adding a local eSIM to your phone). Where eSIMs fall flat is if you have more than one phone and want to switch between them. Now, you've got to get the carrier involved and in the case of T-Mobile, that involves a call to customer service.

Yes, you can technically swap an eSIM between iPhones using functionality built into iOS if the carrier allows it (gee, thanks Apple for giving the carriers that amount of control /s), and obviously, if both phones are iPhones. But if you want to go iPhone to Samsung or vise-versa, that's no bueno without getting the carrier involved.

Most people don't bother with swapping between phones, and in the USA at least, the carriers would rather you didn't unless you're buying a new phone from them, so there isn't much pushback on this.

Re:

[demonlapin]

I have struggled with how best to approach my variant of the problem - I don’t switch phones regularly, but I do carry a spare on international trips where they don’t have Verizon stores. I would have to find WiFi to provision the backup phone with the Verizon app.

Re:

[sonamchauhan]

eSims are convenient when they work but they are an exercise in holding your breath, because if something goes wrong they say you cannot reinstall.

I just installed an eSim on an iPhone and had this frustrating episode a few hours before the flight. Eventually, a phone restart seemed to fix it.

While trying to install on my iPhone with iOS 18, my phone kept saying it could not be installed when I scanned the QR code. Thinking an old eSim I had was the problem, I deleted the old eSim I had installed a couple of weeks ago.

From the next install attempt on, I have been getting "This code is no longer valid" error. But when you view the eSim on Airalo, it clearly says that the eSim is not activated.

Can you help?

[....snip...]

We are sorry to hear you experienced this issue with your eSIM.

Can you please confirm if you haven't installed the eSIM before? In case you are trying to install the eSIM for the second time, then the error message may pop up on your device.
We advise you to please verify if the eSIM is currently installed on the device before taking any action.

Can you please share screenshots containing the following information?

- Installed and enabled ICCID (Go to Settings > General > About > Scroll down to find the ICCID)
- All your installed plans (Go to Settings > Cellular (or Mobile Data/Mobile Service) > Data plans (or Cellular Plans, or SIMs) - please take a full-screen capture

If you are installing the eSIM for the first time, this error message could be due to poor connection when trying to install the eSIM or a VPN enabled on the device.

Please follow the steps below to install your eSIM successfully:

1. Disable any VPN
2. Ensure that you have a good and stable internet connection
3. Remove any expired, outdated or that you are no longer using eSIMs from the device
4. Check if the software is updated to the latest version (Remember to back up your device before updating it to the newest version to avoid data loss)
5. Try to install an eSIM through an installation method different than before

Please let us know how you go, and do not hesitate to reach out if you need any more help.

Re:

[Entrope]

My old Pixel 6 XL supported a physical SIM plus an eSIM. I could choose which to use for voice and SMS, and which to use for data, which is really nice because it meant I had flexibility for roaming data while still using my regular number for texts and calls.

My new Pixel 10 Pro XL (Super Mega Gemini AI Compumegadyne Edition ) supports dual active eSIMs, and like the iPhone mentioned above, at least eight total. It was eerie how easy it was to convert my old physical SIM to an eSIM: it all happened from m

Re:

[DrXym]

I have a Pixel 7 and I found the e-SIM very useful for a trip to Thailand. I had it set up to receive voice through my home number and data through the DTAC e-SIM I bought even before I left home. There are at least 3 or 4 e-SIM apps for Android that will also sell e-SIMs but IMO they're more expensive and restrictive so if you can buy one from a proper phone carrier in the place you're going you'll get better value, more data and better service.

Re:

[Ostracus]

That seems the best compromise, plus one could have different carriers for different services, shopping for the best deal.

Re:

[ISayWeOnlyToBePolite]

I think people forgot the entire point of the SIM card was so that you were not locked into a carrier. Once that sim card physically goes away, so does your ability to switch carriers and use cheaper sim's in countries you travel to.

I don't understand what your saying, afaik there are carrier locked phones with sim trays. Seemingly iphones can hold multiple esim https://www.macobserver.com/ti... [macobserver.com] (iphone users feel free to chime in because I can't guarantee that link isn't AI slop).

Re:

[ShanghaiBill]

According to TFA, the opposite is true: eSims make it easier to switch providers and cheaper to buy temporary sims when traveling.

Re:

[c120plus]

With regular sim: open slot, take out sim, put sim into new phone, use the new phone immediately.

With esim. I need to call my provider and they provide me with a new profile.
It takes several hours before this is active.

You decide what is easier.

For me it's a reason to avoid upgrading - I'll sit this out until switching esims can be
done without contacting the provider at all. I did not upgrade my ipad mini to the current one
because of the same reason.

I'm counting that pressure on the providers will fix this

Re:Pointless

[registrations_suck]

Completely not true. If anything, the opposite is true.

With eSIM, you can sign up for a cell provider without any physical interaction with them. Buy eSIM online, show up in country and you have service. I know, because I've done it.

With eSIM, you can have mulitple eSIMs, from different providers, in your phone at the same time. Switch to the provider you want to use on a whim, as much as you want.

Reality is just the opposite of what you describe.

Re:

[registrations_suck]

Just wanted to add, I have two eSIMs on my phone. One is for Verizon. It's my work line, provided by my employer. The other is US Mobile. It's the one I pay for.

When I travel, if necessary, I can get an eSIM for wherever I am going (usually in advance), and make that one of my active eSIMs. Usually I replace my personal line with the in-country line.

Re:

[Ostracus]

Plus some phones (like Samsung) come with features (e.g. work profiles, etc) that allow for a separation of work and personal, especially with dual-sim phones.

Re:

[Midnight Thunder]

I think people forgot the entire point of the SIM card was so that you were not locked into a carrier. Once that sim card physically goes away, so does your ability to switch carriers and use cheaper sim's in countries you travel to.

That’s wrong. I know it’s wrong because I was able to add an eSIM to my iPhone 12 while travelling. The only downside for anything before the iPhone 14 is you can’t have two active eSIMs at the same time, but you can’t have the physical SIM and an eSIM active at the same time.

Some companies require you install an app to get the eSIM, while others it’s just via a QR code, if I remember rightly.

Re:

[DrXym]

Even if you travel an e-SIM is viable. Your phone needs to be able to support at least two active SIMs or e-SIMs to be useful though. My Pixel has a physical SIM which has my home account and I use the e-SIM for travel so people can still ring me on the home number when I'm away.

I traveled to Thailand this summer and even before I left Europe I had bought and registered an e-SIM from DTAC for my trip. It had unlimited data and even a Thai telephone number. As soon as the plane landed I turned on the phone

Re:

[GuB-42]

When it comes to switching carriers, it is the complete opposite. eSIMs make it easier to switch carrier as it can be done entirely online, and it is particularly good for traveling.

What eSIM makes harder is to switch *phone* while keeping the same carrier. With a physical SIM, you just have to take the card from phone A and put it into phone B. With eSIM, it depends on the carrier, some make it easier than others, and sometimes, you have to pay for it. It may be particularly bad if the phone you are taking

Re: Pointless

[Big Hairy Gorilla]

There's a point. Reduces build cost. Moves hardware function to software. Also, now that its software, they can add whatever new features they want.

Re:

[VaccinesCauseAdults]

If they have space for a USB C then they have space for a SIM.

Possibly true for minimum device thickness, but not true for device volume.

Volume is additive: Apple likely considers the volume of the USB C port worthwhile, whereas the volume of the physical SIM not justified.

Re:

[backslashdot]

It adds additional complexity and parts on the PCB, and one more thing to debug/waterproof.

Re:

[ledow]

Yep.

I will still be buying phones with SIM slots for as long as I can and, if I really need to, the special SIM adaptors you can buy that let you load a bunch of eSIMs into them using their app.

will apple let phone carriers lock out e-sim chang

[Joe_Dragon]

will apple let phone carriers lock out e-sim changes?
Also do they have dual e-sims?

Re: will apple let phone carriers lock out e-sim c

[drinkypoo]

Yes and yes. Phones are generally carrier lockable.

Re:

[ShanghaiBill]

Also do they have dual e-sims?

According to the specs listed on Apple's site, they do.

https://www.apple.com/ph/iphone-17/specs [apple.com]

Re:

[tlhIngan]

Also do they have dual e-sims?

Most eSIMs allow storage of multiple SIM profiles. I believe Apple has ones that support up to 6 so you could have 6 subscriptions. I don't know if they allow all 6 to be running at the same time, or if you have to switch between the ones you want to use.

Re:

[registrations_suck]

Duel e-SIMS work fine on an iPhone. I have one set up for personal use and one for work. This keeps me from having to carry around two phones. The work phone just sits in my desk, unused. It's just as well, since that phone is an ancient Xr, with an itty bitty screen.

You can also have a number of interesting features, such as specifying one sim for data only and one for voice. There is also a way to specify which one is the default voice line, the ability to specify which line to use at the phone contact le

Re:

[Powercntrl]

In other words, it works just the way you would want it to.

It works just the way you would want it to if that happens to be multiple wireless service providers on a single phone. The moment your use case is something other than that, it gets to be iffy.

Metro (formerly MetroPCS) expects you to use their automated system to swap between phones, it almost never works properly, and they actually charge a fee if you have customer service assist with the swap. To be fair though, they even broke the usual swapping functionality of physical SIMs by requiring IMEI pairing

Re:

[registrations_suck]

Ok, sure. If you're one of the tiny group of people that want to swap their phone number to different phones, for whatever reason, eSIM is not for you. Too bad, so sad.

In the meantime, it works fine for the other 99% or more people.

Air Dropping Globally - Wow!

[cliffjumper222]

"iPhone 17 Air Drops Physical SIM Slot Globally" - first, I didn't realize you could AirDrop physical stuff - that's cool and very Apple-like to lead in technology - seconds "mind blown" - they did this globally. Wow! Not sure what the value of sharing a SIM slot is, but still pretty impressive. /jk.

Re:

[MacMann]

"iPhone 17 Air Drops Physical SIM Slot Globally" - first, I didn't realize you could AirDrop physical stuff - that's cool and very Apple-like to lead in technology - seconds "mind blown" - they did this globally.

Must be that quantum tunneling or something I've been hearing about for a while now.

Wow! Not sure what the value of sharing a SIM slot is, but still pretty impressive.

Probably to extend that "Allow Calls on Other Devices" feature. Maybe to extend it beyond WiFi range? I'd like to know more.

/jk.

Oh. Moving on...

Seriously though, the loss of the physical SIM slot only happened in the USA with the iPhone 14. Outside the USA there was either two physical SIM slots, or oen each of physical and electronic. For some reason I like the idea of a physical SIM slot, there was a reason for it a long

Re:

[R3d M3rcury]

Actually, you're talking about AirDrop--a registered trademark of Apple, Inc.

I was thinking more of an iPhone 17 flying through the air while dropping it's Physical SIM Slot around the world.

Another anti consumer move, limiting options

[k0t0n]

How do I swap phones on the fly now when running out of battery during travels? Screw you apple taking our freedom one bit at a time.

Re:

[kurkosdr]

Simple: You will no longer swap phones on the fly when running out of battery during travels. Also, you will no longer swap SIMs in the same phone to avoid roaming fees when travelling to another country. Enjoy your freedom to swap SIMs while it lasts, before Android OEMs blindly copy Apple (as they inevitably will), much like when they removed FM radio and the headphone jack.

Re:

[Guspaz]

eSIM makes it much quicker and easier to swap SIMs. In fact, being able to have many eSIMs on your phone that you can quickly switch between (for example while traveling) or having multiple simultaneously active is one of its biggest benefits. It is equivalent to or better than physical SIMs in literally every way except for the ease of moving a SIM between different devices.

Re:

[drhamad]

Huh? You'll now do this without having to deal with keeping track of multiple physical SIMs.

Re:

[c120plus]

Adding an additional esim in another country and switching on the same device is easier.

moving your esim to another phone is a pain in the ass.

if you just use one device, it's probably easier (until it breaks)

if you have more than one phone and switch sims between them to avoid paying for multiple contracts or to keep the phone number, it's not easier.

For me this is the deal breaker. Since iphones last a long time, not upgrading until moving esims to a different phone is easy and instant is my strategy.

Re:

[karmawarrior]

The eSIM is such a backward step. I'm surprised the 3GPP allowed it. GSM pioneered some amazing features, SIM cards is one of the best.

Re:

[drhamad]

Because..? What can you do with a SIM you can't do with an eSIM?

Re:

[_merlin]

Easily move it to a different phone if I break my phone without having to interact with the carrier. Easily carry and swap more SIM cards than a phone has virtual e-SIM slots.

Re:

[drhamad]

On 1 - yes, moving to a totally different hardware device is a little more difficult with an eSIM, but like... barely. You go to a website instead of switching the hardware. 2 - That's an incredibly niche case. You have more than 2 *active* SIM's? The iPhone 17 can hold 10 eSIM's... 2 active and 8 in storage. I don't know of any hardware-based SIM phones that have more than 2 active. I'm sure you'll find some random phone somewhere that does 3, maybe. But again, that's *incredibly* niche.

Re: Another anti consumer move, limiting options

[zmollusc]

When my current esim phone has a flat battery and I need to transfer the esim to another phone, do I go to the esim-swap-website using the original phone with its flat battery or do I go to the website using the new phone which does not yet have an esim?

Re:

[Teun]

I can't put an eSIM in my Linux laptop.
Meaning the only way I get network access on the laptop is by using the phone's hotspot.

Re:

[drhamad]

Well that's a way to find an even more niche use than even I've ever heard of before.

Re:

[Midnight Thunder]

Just carry a battery bank. It’s far cheaper than a second phone.

Re:

[PPH]

I expect that demand for eSIM cloning apps will grow. Beyond its current market primarily among identity thieves.

Re:

[serviscope_minor]

Uh what?

Buy one phone and a much much cheaper USB power bank.

Anonymity

[weepinganus]

Can I pay cash for an e-sim?

What if I want to communicate anonymously? I can buy a prepaid physical sim without creating a paper trail.

How is this not an attack on privacy?

Re:

[x0ra]

You will own nothing and be happy.