Latest iPhone marks ‘the beginning of the end’ of the SIM card

With smartphones, where Apple leads others often follow – so it launching an iPhone this week without a traditional SIM card is raising questions over the future of a very familiar piece of phone tech.

All phone users will be used to the small plastic cards they need to delicately insert into their devices to make them operate.

But for buyers of the iPhone Air, that will be a thing of the past.

It will only operate with an eSIM – which allows users to switch networks or plans without resorting to a fiddly fork to open a tiny SIM card tray.

Analyst Kester Mann, from CCS Insight, told BBC News that Apple’s announcement “marks the beginning of the end of the physical SIM card”.

But how long will it be before we have all discarded our little chip-carrying pieces of plastic – and what difference will it make to how we use our phones?

SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module. The chip is a key part of your phone – allowing you to connect to your mobile network provider, handle calls and texts, and use your data.

In recent years, the eSIM has emerged as an alternative and in newer phones users have the option to use both a traditional SIM or the eSIM.

On Tuesday, in its product announcement for the new iPhone Air – the newest, and thinnest, addition to the Apple family – the tech giant said it would feature an eSIM-only design.

It is the first time that an eSIM-only iPhone will be available around the world. Customers in the US have had eSIM-only iPhones since 2022.

But even Apple isn’t abandoning the physical SIM card altogether,

While it’s true that the other new iPhones it announced this week – the 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max – will be eSIM only in a number of markets, in the majority of countries they will retain physical SIM card slots.

Other major manufacturers, such as Samsung and Google, while embracing eSIMs as an option are also still maintaining physical SIM in most places.

However, experts say there is no doubt about the direction of travel.

According to CCS Insight’s latest forecast, 1.3 billion smartphones with eSIMs were in use by the end of 2024. That figure is expected to reach 3.1 billion by 2030.

“In time, expect the SIM tray to disappear altogether,” said Paolo Pescatore, a technology analyst at PP Foresight.

Mr Pescatore said moving to an eSIM offered “numerous benefits”, most obviously saving some space internally in a phone, so allowing bigger batteries.

He also highlighted the benefits to the environment, with no plastic SIM cards used, and believes people using an eSIM when they travel abroad will have more provider options and no “bill shocks”.

Kester Mann said it would bring about new customer behaviours and “slowly change how people interact with their mobile provider”.

For example, it could mean some customers won’t need to go into a high street store to discuss their SIM with their provider.

That could be a big advantage for people keen to save some time and a trip to a physical shop.

But he said, like all changes, it might not be welcomed by everyone.

“The change could be particularly important among older demographics or people who are less confident using technology. The industry needs to work hard to explain how to use eSIMs”, Mr Mann said.