What is an eSIM?
2018 saw a significant milestone in consumer technology products, when eSIMs were introduced as a widespread SIM format in new handsets. Slowly but surely, this innovation has become the industry standard in new smartphones, smartwatches, laptops and any other product requiring a cellular internet connection. But how did we get to this point? What is an eSIM? And is an eSIM better than a physical SIM?
eSIM vs Physical SIM: What Are the Differences?
For private customers, an eSIM provides the same function as a SIM card: they’re a way for your phone to store carrier information and connect to a mobile network so you can make calls, send text messages, use apps and access mobile internet. Physical SIMs store this information on a gold-and-silicon card which is manually inserted into your phone; eSIMs (or ‘embedded SIMs’) are purchased online and downloaded to a microchip in your phone’s hardware.
Originally a niche product used in commercial applications, eSIMs are fast becoming a staple of consumer tech. Whether they totally replace SIM cards remains to be seen, but the wheels are already in motion – there are currently over 500 million active eSIMs globally. A major step forward in consumer eSIM adoption was the launch of the eSIM-only iPhone 14 model, built without a SIM card slot. Like many Apple innovations, this wasn't an entirely new idea (the first eSIM-only smartphone was the 2019 Motorola Razr) but Apple’s market share, and the elegance of the implementation, helped to normalise the concept of a ‘no card needed’ phone. Major manufacturers like Google and Samsung have since followed suit, with Samsung even urging their customers to switch to eSIMs.
The push towards the inevitable total adoption of eSIMs rests on their simultaneous superiority as a consumer product and the advantages they offer hardware manufacturers.
The Advantages of eSIMs
Advantages for customers
The most obvious benefit of an eSIM is its flexibility. While you can treat an eSIM profile just like a normal SIM card and leave it active in your phone for years, you can also download a temporary eSIM for a particular purpose, such as visiting another country, and delete it as soon as you’re done with it. In terms of eSIM physical SIM signal strength, there's no difference. The advantage of the new technology lies in its ease of use rather than any improved coverage or connection.
This also makes it easier to switch carriers and explains why the initial pushback on eSIMs came from mobile network providers. With a SIM card, switching network providers is often a deliberately arduous process, designed to keep customers locked into their contracts. An eSIM makes it possible to change providers anytime through a phone’s Settings menu.
Advantages for Travel
Travelling with an eSIM is where the consumer-side benefits of the technology really shine. Previously, if you were travelling to a new country and wanted to use mobile internet, you were faced with two options: use your usual network supplier to access the internet abroad and deal with the roaming fees or buy and use a local SIM card.
The first option has ruined many a holiday, as the wild variance of data roaming fees between countries and network carriers makes it difficult to budget the cost of internet abroad and can lead to unexpectedly high phone bills on return.
The second option is far more cost-effective, but not without downsides. Firstly, a physical SIM must be bought in a shop or shipped to a specific address – which may not be possible if one is required at short notice. Then, once you’ve inserted your local SIM card, you’ll lose any contacts, messages or anything else saved on your regular SIM, as well as forfeit access to any services that require two-factor authentication (unless you’re using a dual-SIM-card phone, though these are becoming increasingly rare).
A travel eSIM solves both problems. They provide all the savings of a local SIM card, while allowing travellers to use their phones as they normally do while abroad. This is because most eSIM-enabled phones can store 5-10 separate eSIMs at once, allowing the user to seamlessly switch between them as needed, for example when crossing a border to another country. The digital functionality also means users can get online the second they arrive in a new country, rather than waiting to purchase a local SIM card.
Advantages for businesses
One of the early drivers of eSIM adoption was their clear advantages in business contexts. For companies that need to provide work phone numbers to their employees, eSIM technology was a cost-effective and highly convenient solution. Instead of buying a new work phone for every employee who requires a work number, they can digitally send an eSIM profile to their current phone. The employee can then switch between the two SIMs as needed. This also allows businesses to manage, distribute and recall multiple eSIMs instantly, rather than the fiddly process of keeping tabs on several tiny plastic cards at once.
Previously, dual-SIM usage was a niche feature in certain models that took up precious space within a device's internal hardware – nowadays, some phones can support up to ten eSIM profiles at once, an unthinkable number in the days of physical SIMs. This is especially advantageous in smaller devices that require a cellular connection, such as wearables, watches, laptops, or smart home devices.
Advantages for Manufacturers
Of course, there are two prongs to this rapid adoption – while eSIMs represent a clear improvement for most consumers, they’re also highly beneficial to device manufacturers. This growing adoption of the eSIM standard by major brands such as Apple, Samsung and Google is, in turn, convincing carriers to prioritise eSIM plans.
An eSIM negates the need for a built-in SIM tray. While this may seem like a purely aesthetic consideration, it’s integral for ultra-minimalist designs like the Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. Real estate in a phone's hardware is limited – removing a SIM card and tray frees up space for additional features like a more powerful camera, extended battery life, a faster processor, or increased storage. This is especially clear in the new breed of foldable smartphones, where every millimetre of internal space is a premium. Apple have a track record of eradicating external ports at every given opportunity – the lack of a SIM tray is just another example.
The space saved by an eSIM has also enabled the rise of cellular-connected smartwatches. Manufacturers now have more freedom to develop smaller and more powerful wearable tech, such as smartwatches, wristbands or glasses with a mobile data connection.
Advantages for the Planet
Perhaps the death knell for SIM cards is that they can be replaced with a plastic-free option. SIM cards are directly responsible for thousands of tons of plastic waste a year – and the dense configuration of various materials (silicon, gold, etc) in a physical SIM means that they can’t simply get thrown in the recycling. Some specialist firms recycle the gold from old SIMs, but the vast majority end up in landfill.
eSIMs, in contrast, are a single metal chip embedded into the device – they last as long as the phone does.
eSIM vs Physical SIM – Which is Safer?
As eSIMs are hardwired to the handset body, lost or stolen eSIM phones can be tracked and remotely shut off
An eSIM can’t prevent your phone from being stolen, but it does make it harder to resell and be a deterrent to thieves. With a SIM card-only phone, all a thief needs to do is pop the tray open and remove the SIM to prevent it from being tracked. This is not possible with an embedded eSIM chip.
This doesn’t prevent eSIMs from falling victim to other cases of fraud or theft, such as SIM Swaps.
The embedded nature of eSIMs does raise some privacy concerns – the same functionality that makes it easy to track your device if it’s lost or stolen also means it’s easier for companies to track consumers and collect data
Are SIM Cards Really Going Extinct?
If eSIMs are widely accepted as the next step in SIM technology, why are physical SIM cards still in production?
SIM cards are a legacy product, with billions of users worldwide – simply put, an upgrade of this scale takes time. New movies received VHS releases until 2005, and an estimated 2 million people still use pagers. While we’re not suggesting SIM cards are going to enjoy the same nostalgia-fuelled renaissance as vinyl records or 35mm cameras, they’re also not going to disappear overnight.
eSIMs only function on relatively new devices (post-2018) – plenty of people who can’t afford or don’t want an eSIM-enabled device will have no use for eSIMs.
While eSIMs are on balance, more user-friendly than a SIM card, physical SIMs are a more straightforward concept. Many people prefer the tangible idea of popping in and out a plastic card when needed, as opposed to downloading and activating an ethereal concept.
The most likely option for most people, at least for the near future, is using a dual-SIM phone. These are devices that support both a physical SIM card and multiple eSIM profiles, allowing total freedom to the user.
It's also important to note that SIM cards themselves have changed a lot since their debut in 1991. We’re accustomed to today's nano SIMs, but an early 90s SIM was roughly the size of a credit card. In this context, eSIMs are simply the next logical step in SIM evolution. Much like physical cards are disappearing from banking, or paper tickets from the event industry, physical SIMs are the final remnants of a soon-to-be-obsolete product cycle.
eSIM travel data plans
Using an eSIM
The temporary nature of eSIMs means it’s easy to test one out and see if it’s right for you before committing to longer-term use. If you're planning a trip abroad or considering using a data plan with your Apple Watch, you can simply purchase an eSIM mobile data plan and test it out for a short while. A prepaid eSIM data plan, like the ones from BetterRoaming, can be installed in minutes with no recurring billing or hidden costs. Simply download the eSIM, pick the right data volume for your trip, and start using it the second you arrive in your destination. Then, if you use up all your data, you can simply buy more. This offers a foolproof and cost-effective way to try the new technology, with the peace of mind of a one-time, non-recurring purchase.
Does my device support eSIMs?
Before you go out and spend money on an eSIM data plan, it's worth checking if it’ll actually work on your device. Most smartphones built after 2018 will be eSIM-equipped. Find a list of the most popular eSIM-compatible devices here, or check with your manufacturer if you are still unsure. If you're after an Apple Watch data plan, you can check if your Watch supports cellular by looking at the knurled circular button on the side of the watch face. If you see a red ring, the Watch is eSIM-enabled.
