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I like SIM cards. easy way to swap to another phone. I used to do that, but not so much anymore. I don't travel internationally so it won't affect me either.

I just looked it up, and it seems all the carriers and their flanker brands here in Canada support it, at least in my region.

I just hope that carriers won't start getting stupid with some kind of tricky "software locks".

I guess Apple wants to squeeze out as much space out of the phone for battery.
 
So now we have to endure how many months or years of sim issues and bugs before Apple squashes all the bugs?

Also, when this comes out Apple will have data on data associated with the sim, facial recognition of the user, thumbprints from previous phones, biometrics from watch they may own, their personal files on iCloud, their voice print, passwords, and key logging data of all activity with universal control. What’s left, medical and tax records?

Where I was going first was if apple ever planned on being a phone carrier themselves. But other than being the holder of all your personal information and behavior these sims can be used in every device they make once they control it. So the glasses could have them. The watch, iPads and laptops can all get this. They’ll just have to figure out a new price structure that shares your data among all devices, and how much apples cut of that they would get.
 
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Don’t get the fuss tbh. A SIM card is a relic, if you can do the same thing digitally why not do that instead to save valuable space?
There are pro and cons to each.

If your smartphone is completely dead, it's easier to just remove the SIM and pop it into another smartphone to get back up and running than to transfer an eSIM

 
Right back in the 90s on CDMA. Just update the ESN on the carrier's website and dial *228 (or, *ACT) to activate.

Worked then, no problem, no idea why it wouldn't work now. Truthfully, I could do an ESN change even quicker than it took me to find the damn paperclip to eject a SIM card. Always felt like going to a SIM card for 4G was a step backwards in some ways.

And yeah, my StarTAC was a dual-NAM phone. None of this is new. :)
 
T-Mobile literally has an app called Prepaid eSIM.
Great for setting up a new prepaid plan, useless for transferring an existing plan to eSIM.

Basically have to cancel old plan and possibly lose phone number, then setup a new plan and go through the hassle of maybe getting your old number back. Or setup a new plan using a never used on t-mobile before email address, then do the number transfer hassle that should cancel the old plan.

It is possible that T-Mobile customer support for prepaid plans could make this work but I much prefer just transferring my old SIM to the new phone with plan and number following.
 
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I like the idea of getting rid of openings that are ingress points for environmental contaminants. Far more users suffer from environmental damage and there is far more cost and physical waste associated repairs than set up connection difficulties And those difficulties will vanish with time. While they’re at it they should get rid of the lightning port as well. Modern wireless charging and wireless data more than adequate alternatives to physical interconnect.
 
Wouldn’t be surprised if they axe lightning at the same time. Maybe the mute switch too (they already did on iPads!).
I came here to talk about the mute switch too. I've been wanting them to axe the mute switch for a few years now. It's silly that it's not on iPads or iPod touches, and there's a simple Control Center toggle for muting, but the iPhone lacks this. I would love to be able to automate the mute when I leave for work, too!

That said, SIM card trays are useful for people on pre-paid plans or when traveling. Knowing how they handled the LTE Apple Watches on pre-paid carriers, I don't know if I want this removed on the iPhone yet.
 
It does make me wonder, though, if this will require Apple to make two versions of each model available. Cellular providers in some countries are still going to insist on iPhones with physical SIM cards.
When they see Apple doing this with the iPhone (just as it is done with the Apple Watch Cellular Models) ... it is either SH*T or get off the pot. eSim *IS* happening... and I am sure they don't want to be left with a chocolate-stained behind... losing all those iPhone Sales.
 
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It's time for Macs to have cellular connectivity as a standard feature. Long overdue.
I used to think the same thing, when I still used cellular on my Lenovo Thinkpad. But I have switched to using the hotspot on my iPhone. For me this is significantly cheaper than yet another cellular contract. I have upgraded my mobile contract to unlimited and am happy to not need the cellular option in any of my laptops.
 
That's assuming that the mobile industry stays the same and doesn't change. Apple has a knack for transforming industries. The move away from physical SIM cards will force the industry to adapt so that existing conveniences don't go extinct.
Yes, Apple sure did disrupt the mobile industry by enabling carriers to continue charging ridiculous “upgrade fees” by charging *da-ta-DAA* $30 more for unlocked iPhones.

Apple is just allowing carriers to continue charging upgrade fees, as it won’t be possible to do sim swap to new phones. F Apple’s unlocked premium fee…. They only did that to appease US carriers.
 
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Haven't gone through all 6 pages of this thread, so maybe someone noted this already: this could be the harbinger of a completely sealed phone. The SIM slot is one more point to remove to achieve this. So perhaps one of the iPhone 14 models will feature the completely sealed approach.
 
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Apple would have to make it WAYY easier to activate/switch eSIMs if this is the case. I've had Verizon since 2015 and for the past 2 or 3 years it's always a bit of a hassle to get the eSIM activated.

Removing the headphone jack makes more sense than this because there was an instant/easy solution. This? Nope.
 
Good, finally they are going to remove the simcard tray.
One hole less in the frame and if you check the iPhone xrays from the last years, the simcard alone needs 20% of the PCB area.
They will just add a second esim, so dualsim is still possible.
They already did.


"Using Dual SIM with an eSIM
An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows you to activate a cellular plan from your carrier without having to use a physical nano-SIM. With iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13, and iPhone 13 mini, you can use Dual SIM with either two active eSIMs or a nano-SIM and an eSIM."
 
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