First, a refresher on eSIMs: they are SIM cards, but electronic, not physical. This means your phone can be provisioned remotely — you no longer need to go to a store to get a physical SIM. This makes it easier (in some ways) to switch networks or try one out—T-Mobile now uses eSIMs to let users try out its network for up to three months. As of iOS 16, you can even transfer your eSIM between iPhones via Bluetooth, which will make it almost as easy as a physical SIM — as long as you stay within the Apple ecosystem. Of course. iPhones can store multiple eSIMs, although only two can be active at a time Most major carriers in the US, and many worldwide, have eSIM support, and iPhones support them as of 2018, including the ability to use two SIMs at once. Until the iPhone 13, this meant one eSIM and one physical SIM. the iPhone 13 family introduced the ability to use two eSIMs at the same time. Removing the physical SIM — and the hole if needed — is the next logical step. At least for Apple, and at least in the US — the iPhone 14 still has a SIM tray everywhere else. If you’re on a major US carrier — AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile — the lack of a physical SIM tray probably won’t affect you much. Even if you switch carriers or switch phones, you can download an eSIM directly from Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile without going into a store. But if you’re on a carrier that doesn’t have eSIM support, or you’re planning to switch to one, well, you shouldn’t get the iPhone 14 right now. You may not have to wait long. This could be the push smaller carriers need to get on board with eSIMs. (Outside the US, the iPhone 14 series still includes nano-SIM slots.) This is not a SIM slot. is a mmWave interrupt At the launch event, Apple representatives told The Verge that the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro can store at least eight eSIMS, with up to two active at the same time. Global eSIM reseller Airalo says previous iPhones could hold five to 10, depending on the model. This could take some of the sting out of losing your physical SIM tray, although not all international carriers support eSIM. (I haven’t used Airalo and can’t vouch for it, but being able to remotely provision a local eSIM when traveling abroad could eliminate the hassle of finding a local SIM.) The ability to have more than one active SIM is great for frequent travelers, people who live in areas where either network has poor coverage, or people who have separate work and personal numbers. I bought my iPhone 11 when I lived in the Netherlands and it has both a Dutch eSIM and a physical Verizon SIM. This meant I could use a local SIM whether I was in Europe or the US without losing access to my other number or having to mess with iMessage or WhatsApp settings. Physical SIMs make it easy to transfer your phone to a different carrier or port your number to a new phone. They’re ubiquitous, work on all phones, and are pretty easy to use (though easily lost, ask me how I know). Many of my colleagues are not worried about losing the SIM slot. Moving an eSIM from an iPhone to an Android phone isn’t necessarily trivial. I don’t think removing the SIM tray is necessarily unfriendly to most people. Most people just don’t switch carriers or phones every few weeks. But that depends on how easy carriers make it to install and migrate eSIMs across platforms. We’ll see how that goes. Update September 7, 4:45 PM ET: Added information about eSIM support. Correction September 8, 12:06 PM ET: The original text of this article misspelled the name of eSIM retailer Airalo. Sorry for the mistake. Correction September 10, 9:26 PM ET: An earlier version of this article said the iPhone 14 could store up to six eSIMs. Both the 14 and 14 Pro models can store at least eight.
