{"id":3905,"date":"2025-09-12T07:49:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T07:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/latest-iphone-marks-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-sim-card\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T07:49:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T07:49:16","slug":"latest-iphone-marks-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-sim-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/latest-iphone-marks-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-sim-card\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest iPhone marks &#8216;the beginning of the end&#8217; of the SIM card"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Latest iPhone marks &#8216;the beginning of the end&#8217; of the SIM card<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jdlrvG\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-c4820dd1-0 cYDsPh\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"sc-c4820dd1-1 jZKXfd\"><time datetime=\"2025-09-12T04:27:58.376Z\" class=\"sc-c4820dd1-2 IVdPK\">3 hours ago<\/time><\/div>\n<p><span data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-c4820dd1-11 bxdaHR\" readability=\"2\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"sc-c4820dd1-7 dbQBRo\">Graham Fraser<\/span><span data-testid=\"undefined-role-location\" class=\"sc-c4820dd1-8 evcqcz\">Technology reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 ERpRj\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-86c96223-1 evkFpM\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pdNcfJ.png\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 iMuqLZ hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/bf83\/live\/c0655ea0-8ee1-11f0-a84b-ed021aa99e21.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/bf83\/live\/c0655ea0-8ee1-11f0-a84b-ed021aa99e21.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/bf83\/live\/c0655ea0-8ee1-11f0-a84b-ed021aa99e21.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/bf83\/live\/c0655ea0-8ee1-11f0-a84b-ed021aa99e21.jpg.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/bf83\/live\/c0655ea0-8ee1-11f0-a84b-ed021aa99e21.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/bf83\/live\/c0655ea0-8ee1-11f0-a84b-ed021aa99e21.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/bf83\/live\/c0655ea0-8ee1-11f0-a84b-ed021aa99e21.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/bf83\/live\/c0655ea0-8ee1-11f0-a84b-ed021aa99e21.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Getty Images A sim card on a person's finger\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi\"><span class=\"sc-86c96223-2 hqrvRC\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jdlrvG\" readability=\"27\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">With smartphones, where Apple leads others often follow &#8211; 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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">All phone users will be used to the small plastic cards they need to delicately insert into their devices to make them operate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">But for buyers of the iPhone Air, that will be a thing of the past.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">It will only operate with an eSIM &#8211; which allows users to switch networks or plans without resorting to a fiddly fork to open a tiny SIM card tray.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Analyst Kester Mann, from CCS Insight, told BBC News that Apple&#8217;s announcement &#8220;marks the beginning of the end of the physical SIM card&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">But how long will it be before we have all discarded our little chip-carrying pieces of plastic &#8211; and what difference will it make to how we use our phones?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 fsBZby\">&#8216;Expect the tray to disappear&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jHorPx\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-86c96223-1 evkFpM\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pdNcfJ.png\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 iMuqLZ hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/8946\/live\/61b7f080-8e5e-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/8946\/live\/61b7f080-8e5e-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8946\/live\/61b7f080-8e5e-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/8946\/live\/61b7f080-8e5e-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/8946\/live\/61b7f080-8e5e-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/8946\/live\/61b7f080-8e5e-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/8946\/live\/61b7f080-8e5e-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8946\/live\/61b7f080-8e5e-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Getty Images A person pushing a sim card into a mobile phone. On the mobile screen, it says 'Hello'\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi\"><span class=\"sc-86c96223-2 hqrvRC\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jdlrvG\" readability=\"50.456676136364\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module. The chip is a key part of your phone &#8211; allowing you to connect to your mobile network provider, handle calls and texts, and use your data.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">On Tuesday, in its product announcement for the new iPhone Air &#8211; the newest, and thinnest, addition to the Apple family &#8211; the tech giant said it would feature an eSIM-only design.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">But even Apple isn&#8217;t abandoning the physical SIM card altogether,<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">While it&#8217;s true that the other new iPhones it announced this week &#8211; the 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max &#8211; will be eSIM only in a number of markets, in the majority of countries they will retain physical SIM card slots.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Other major manufacturers, such as Samsung and Google, while embracing eSIMs as an option are also still maintaining physical SIM in most places.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">However, experts say there is no doubt about the direction of travel. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">According to CCS Insight&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;In time, expect the SIM tray to disappear altogether,&#8221; said Paolo Pescatore, a technology analyst at PP Foresight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jHorPx\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-86c96223-1 evkFpM\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pdNcfJ.png\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 iMuqLZ hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/e003\/live\/e38e6c70-8e5d-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/e003\/live\/e38e6c70-8e5d-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e003\/live\/e38e6c70-8e5d-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/e003\/live\/e38e6c70-8e5d-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/e003\/live\/e38e6c70-8e5d-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/e003\/live\/e38e6c70-8e5d-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/e003\/live\/e38e6c70-8e5d-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e003\/live\/e38e6c70-8e5d-11f0-af6b-f75bb410f9ba.jpg.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Getty Images A person holding the Apple iPhone Air\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi\"><span class=\"sc-86c96223-2 hqrvRC\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 fsBZby\">What are the advantages of an e-SIM?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 jdlrvG\" readability=\"32\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Mr Pescatore said moving to an eSIM offered &#8220;numerous benefits&#8221;, most obviously saving some space internally in a phone, so allowing bigger batteries. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">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 &#8220;bill shocks&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Kester Mann said it would bring about new customer behaviours and &#8220;slowly change how people interact with their mobile provider&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">For example, it could mean some customers won&#8217;t need to go into a high street store to discuss their SIM with their provider.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">That could be a big advantage for people keen to save some time and a trip to a physical shop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">But he said, like all changes, it might not be welcomed by everyone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;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&#8221;, Mr Mann said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 geRyoc\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-86c96223-1 evkFpM\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pdNcfJ.png\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 iMuqLZ hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 640w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 1024w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/41d3\/live\/348b21e0-26a8-11f0-8f57-b7237f6a66e6.png.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A green promotional banner with black squares and rectangles forming pixels, moving in from the right. The text says: \u201cTech Decoded: The world\u2019s biggest tech news in your inbox every Monday.\u201d\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Published at Fri, 12 Sep 2025 04:27:58 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Latest iPhone marks &#8216;the beginning of the end&#8217; of the SIM card 3 hours ago Graham FraserTechnology reporter Getty Images With smartphones, where Apple leads others often follow &#8211; 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.&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/latest-iphone-marks-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-sim-card\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Latest iPhone marks &#8216;the beginning of the end&#8217; of the SIM card<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}