A Brief History of the eSIM: From IoT to Smartphones

If you’ve spent any time with us here at BetterRoaming, you know we’re big advocates of eSIM technology. These embedded SIM cards are software-only versions of traditional physical SIM cards, which are enabling huge technological leaps in device connectivity and super convenience for roaming travelers.

To learn more about what they are and what they do, please check out our friendly guides. Here, we’re going to take a quick look about their recent history, to show you how fast their adoption and evolution has been.

The origins of eSIM technology

The concept of the eSIM was first introduced by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) back in 2010. The GSMA are the ultimate authority on consumer mobile standards, made up of worldwide mobile operators focusing on industry initiatives and setting standards, with a mission to unlock the power of connectivity. The eSIM was originally envisioned to serve the Internet of Things (IoT) segment since due to its smaller size requirements and scalability as compared to traditional SIM tech.

Pixel Perfect

It wasn’t long before it became apparent that the same system could be a boon to smartphones, but it still took until 2016 for the GSMA to approve the technology for consumer devices. It was another two years before the first phone with eSIM capabilities was released in the form of the Pixel 2 by Google as part of their ‘Project Fi’ range.

Ready for the Big Jobs - Apple eSIM

However, it was Apple that really brough the system to worldwide prominence in 2018. In typical Apple style, their devices weren’t the very first to market but they were the first to fully realized the technology and make the user experience seamless on iPhone XR and iPhone XS. With a shared focus on barrier-free customer experiences and intuitive digital lifestyle, it’s no surprise that 1GLOBAL (the parent brand of BetterRoaming) quickly became the largest provider of eSiMs for iPad, with 25 million installs and counting, giving immediate connectivity to Apple customers in 60 countries. For years Apple maintained the largest portfolio of eSIM-enabled smartphones, only recently overtaken by Samsung with its 22 eSIM-compatible smartphones, although this has a lot to do with the comparatively tight focus of iPhone models.

Mobile Milestones

In 2019 the aggressively slimline Motorola RAZR was launched, which was notable for having no physical SIM slot, making it the first eSIM-only smartphone on the market. However, it didn’t get half the hype that Apple did when it launched its first eSIM-only smartphone in continental America with the iPhone 14 in September 2022. This was a classic Apple moment, being not the first example of its kind but the one that would gain public attention, first as derision and then as almost universal acceptance and mainstream emulation. The exact same thing had already happened with headphone jacks back in 2016 with the iPhone 7.

The future of eSIM

In 2023 the year-on-year number of smartphone models supporting eSIMs went up by a whopping 90%. The technology is gaining greater traction and becoming more accessible by the day. When Apple launched the first mainstream eSIM capable smartphone it retailed at just under $1000, but an equivalent device today will be under $250. Market estimates project there were 986 million eSIM-capable smartphones operational last year, and that by 2025 there will be 3.4 billion eSIM devices (including tablets, laptops and smartwatches) up from 1.2 billion in 2021.