All iPhone 16 Models Sold Outside U.S. Still Have Physical SIM Card Tray

[ric22]

For all of those saying that eSIM can be cheaper in some markets than physical SIM cards… I'm not doubting your experience, but I don't understand why this should be the case? There is no reason that a company offering a physical SIM can't also offer an eSIM, is there? And with no physical goods that need to produced, packaged, and shipped… (or perhaps if there is just a paper card with a QR code or something like that), why wouldn't eSIM be just as cheap, if not cheaper than a physical one?

Because at the moment the eSIMs are just intended for wealthy iPhone owning American tourists 😅 They're taking advantage of that.

 

[ric22]

If I live in the US what's the best way to get a European iPhone 16 with the SIM card slot? eBay?
It will still work in the US, right?

Vacation?

 

[ric22]

But with a European model iPhone 16/Pro you can still use two eSIMs at once (Dual SIM Dual Standby) if you don't have an (physical) nano SIM in the slot, right?

Yes, it should work. I've tried it on my 15PM.

 

[Adora]

I have a completely free SIM with like 200MB "high speed" data per month and then slowing down to 64kbit/s, at least it's unlimited. I think it's over 12 years old now and I only put 10 Euro on it once 6 years ago for "emergency" calls/SMS what costs 0,09€ per minute and SMS.

Would be sad if I can't use it anymore if there is only eSIM in a few years.

 

[platinumaqua]

The only reason I'm hesitant to use eSIM is in case my phone breaks. So if quickly need to swap to another old phone, how easily can I switch? And well, since my phone has both physical SIM and eSIM, there isn't really a benefit of using eSIM at all.

you will have to contact the carrier to reissue the eSIM in this case, which may cost money depending on the carrier

 

[The1Biz]

If I live in the US what's the best way to get a European iPhone 16 with the SIM card slot? eBay?
It will still work in the US, right?

Go to Canada if you are close enough.

 

[ric22]

The only reason I'm hesitant to use eSIM is in case my phone breaks. So if quickly need to swap to another old phone, how easily can I switch? And well, since my phone has both physical SIM and eSIM, there isn't really a benefit of using eSIM at all.

Depends on the company. Some will require you borrow someone else's phone and spend maybe an hour or two on a call, and email in photographs of ID and stuff (Monday to Friday, regular office hours). 😅 One of the reasons I'm hesitant about eSIMs.

 

[DaveMcM76]

Agree, UK has almost all carriers on eSim, and to change between devices you can do this really easily in most of the carriers apps. So it's a non-issue over physical.

However, until the rest of the planet catches up to countries like US, UK, other European, et al., having a physical sim is a useful option to retain. But it shouldn't be this way, non-eSim carriers should be getting their act together and updating to eSim options ASAP.

All the big "main" carriers maybe, but a lot of the cheaper MVNOs still don't offer eSim... even the bigger MVNOs like Tesco have only started experimenting with offering them in the last couple of months... I've recently moved from Tesco to Smarty (more data for less money, no contract and more 5G availability in my area) and they still don't offer eSim at all.

 

[AngstyKylo]

Which is great news as not all operators here in the uk support eSIM (mainly mvmo)

Yep, eSIM adoption is absolutely garbage in the UK. I'd much prefer if we had dual SIM iPhones that China were given.

 

[ellpee]

Like with the headphone jack if Apple thought they’d make more money with the SIM tray it would still be there in the US.

 

[BC2009]

Good because I will never buy and iPhone that forces you to go through major carriers that have a monopoly on pricing. I frequently travel around Asia and it’s so much cheaper to pick up local SIM cards especially in Hong Kong. You pay a fraction of the price often for the same or even better deals than you get from major carriers if you are forced to use eSIM. It’s much easier to just pop in a SIM and dispose of it when you’re done, not needing to give out any personal info at all like if you had to go to a carrier.

It is possible to wirelessly transfer the eSIM of one iPhone to another. My wife just did it when replacing her iPhone 14 Pro Max under AppleCare+ due to water damage (so much for water resistance after 2 years of use). Either way, I think the carrier gets notified because AT&T would always update the image for my iPhone on their web app when I would login after having swapped a physical SIM to a new phone post-upgrade. I remember them once even trying to charge me an activation fee, but then reversed it when I complained.

But I guess wirelessly transferring an eSIM is not going to help travelers though who swap SIM's when going to different countries. But it was a relief that it was easy to setup a new phone and transfer the account over.

 

[axantas]

What would be the point if you can install an unlimited amount of ESIM? No one forces you to put a sim in?

I am still very cautious in handling esims. A physical sim is just working in every situation. New phone - sim out sim in and you are done. New temporary sim for your holiday - home sim out holiday sim in, you are done. Home again - old sim in and you are done.

esim has so many possible restrictions from your provider, that makes me never touch a once active one in my phone. Reactivate an esim outside of your home network? Sorry, maybe not possible. Existing esim in your new phone? QR code is just one time - go home to a shop of your provider to get a new QR code. Prepaid? Sorry the code is one time only for security reason - not at home? Out of luck, ask for assistance in a shop. And it’s 10 bucks, you know. And so on.

I really like the idea of esim! but providers are deliberately using it to make any handling a tedious thing. They finally have found an easy way to make swapping and changing as difficult as possible.

 

[ellpee]

Verizon won’t let you self-activate an eSIM on prepaid, I assume the other carriers do the same but maybe not. This is so annoying and I guess that’s the point of it.

 

[kerr]

Like with the headphone jack if Apple thought they’d make more money with the SIM tray it would still be there in the US.

Apple were able to offer alternatives such as AirPods or EarPods with Lightning/USB-C. Apple however cannot compel cellular carriers around the world to support eSIM, hence there has been absolutely no expansion of the SIM-less iPhone in other markets.

 

[Beau10]

Verizon won’t let you self-activate an eSIM on prepaid, I assume the other carriers do the same but maybe not. This is so annoying and I guess that’s the point of it.

Did this recently change? They advertise you can: https://www.verizon.com/prepaid/eSIM

 

[quietstormSD]

So a full 3rd generation of phones where in the US there is no physical SIM and non-US where there is. I guess Apple is lacking courage on this one. I would just revert back the US phones to physical SIM too. There is no current benefit not having one. If it made it more waterproof currently, ok fine. But Apple doesn't even say that. Now they are just being stubborn by keeping the physical SIM out of US phones.

 

[dampfnudel]

Punishment for Americans that want to travel

Not necessarily based on my travels so far in Europe. Physical SIM cards actually feel a little archaic now, comparable to people still using DVDs to watch movies while most of the world has gone streaming. Going beyond Europe is the issue…possibly.

 

[ric22]

Not necessarily based on my travels so far in Europe. Physical SIM cards actually feel a little archaic now, comparable to people still using DVDs to watch movies while most of the world has gone streaming. Going beyond Europe is the issue…possibly.

I live in Germany and my carrier only allowed me an eSIM a couple of months ago... while my partner's carrier still doesn't offer it. A number of EU countries I have visited in the last year had little/no/no sensibly priced eSIMs- I didn't need one but I was curious after getting eSIMs in Armenia and Georgia but not Bulgaria, so I had a look. Maybe you happened to stumble into the countries with better eSIM coverage? (Or you just didn't mind paying extra?)

Edit: Having a look online now and various countries have limited offerings and deals without calls and stuff like that. A complete mess compared to just buying a regular SIM in a shop.

 

[dampfnudel]

I live in Germany and my carrier only allowed me an eSIM a couple of months ago... while my partner's carrier still doesn't offer it. A number of EU countries I have visited in the last year had little/no/no sensibly priced eSIMs. Maybe you happened to stumble into the countries with better eSIM coverage? (Or you just didn't mind paying extra?)

I have coverage through my carrier included in my plan on the Telekom network when I visit family near Frankfurt (Aschaffenburg). No issues in Denmark and Austria where I have more relatives. Data can be slow in some places, but still adequate for my needs. There are some cheap options if I need more. It has definitely gotten better for Americans traveling in Europe over the past decade.

 

[Zeke92]

Good because I will never buy and iPhone that forces you to go through major carriers that have a monopoly on pricing. I frequently travel around Asia and it’s so much cheaper to pick up local SIM cards especially in Hong Kong. You pay a fraction of the price often for the same or even better deals than you get from major carriers if you are forced to use eSIM. It’s much easier to just pop in a SIM and dispose of it when you’re done, not needing to give out any personal info at all like if you had to go to a carrier.

You don't have to go through local carriers for eSIM. There are many applications that provide access to minor carriers. Why do people think this?

 

[ric22]

I have coverage through my carrier included in my plan on the Telekom network when I visit family near Frankfurt (Aschaffenburg). No issues in Denmark and Austria where I have more relatives. Data can be slow in some places, but still adequate for my needs. There are some cheap options if I need more. It has definitely gotten better for Americans traveling in Europe over the past decade.

Telekom are good, but expensive. They're the most premium network here.

Travel to the fringes of Europe and it's often a different story. Then travel to Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, SE Asia, etc, and be in for a shock.

 

[ls1dreams]

Bring it back to the US.

eSims are expensive overseas still vs physical cards.

 

[dampfnudel]

Telekom are good, but expensive. They're the most premium network here.

Travel to the fringes of Europe and it's often a different story. Then travel to Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, SE Asia, etc, and be in for a shock.

I have a friend who traveled to Portugal and he has the same carrier/plan like me, no issues. Do you consider the Balkans or some of the Greek islands “fringe” or something?

 

[ric22]

I have a friend who traveled to Portugal and he has the same carrier/plan like me, no issues. Do you consider the Balkans or some of the Greek islands “fringe” or something?

Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania...

Good luck getting comprehensive eSIM options in every one of those for the same price as regular SIMs....

 

[ric22]

To clarify, I'm not saying you won't find an eSIM in those places, just that you'll have a much more limited choice and typically higher prices (sometimes because the budget networks aren't on eSIM and sometimes because the eSIM packages are seen as tourist packages, which they can get away with charging more for, like in Turkey and Thailand).