At the just concluded Apple Event- the Far Out, which held on September 7, 2022, Apple finally released the anticipated iPhone 14 series, AirPods Pro and the Apple Watch Ultra. As always, Apple didn’t disappoint with the introduction of new features and updates on their devices. New cameras (finally, iPhone is moving away from 12MP sensors), satellite enabled SOS calling, Airpods with noise-cancelling capabilities twice the usual. These are just a few of the many announcements made. But one major thing customers in the US and the UK will be pondering about is that for them there won’t be SIM trays to slot in SIM cards be it a regular, micro or nano SIM due to a total switch to something called eSIM on the iPhone 14 series to be released in their regions. The question now is what is an eSIM and why is it something you should know about? To begin, we need to know that the ‘e’ in stands for embedded and not electronic. The concept of an embedded SIM first began in 2010 where GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communication Association), a worldwide industrial organisation representing the interests of mobile network operators, discussed the possibility of a software-based SIM. Industry giants, Motorola and Apple had conflicting ideas on its applications and area of usages, with Apple arguing that the concept cannot be restricted from usage in consumer products. The GSMA currently manages two versions of the eSIM, one for consumer devices and the other for M2M (machine-to-machine) devices. By 2016, the two versions and its implementation in devices began.

Unlike a traditional SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card which consists of an integrated circuit on a UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) which is in the SIM plastic, the eSIM is a virtualized SIM profile installed onto a dedicated chip that is permanently fixed to a device at the factory. So, when you want to use an eSIM on your device, you are just installing your SIM profile (personal phone number and other details) from your service provider on the already available chip that is embedded. Think of it has having a room to let in your apartment. If you want a roommate, you place it on Airbnb and find one who is interested. If you don’t like the roommate probably due to noisiness or bad habits, you kick them out and find another one again. Your available room is the chip, permanently fixed to the device called your apartment. Your roommate is the SIM profile that is staying over (installed) at the spare room (fixed chip) and they can get kicked out (changed) if you’re not interested anymore. Since the electrical interface used in an eSIM is the same as the physical SIM, it operates the same with a unique ICCID (Integrated Circuit Card IDentifier) and network authentication key generated by the carrier. Correlating it with the roommate analogy, you can say it’s the same way our roommate still qualifies as a tenant even though they are on a short stay.

The major advantage of eSIMs is that it removes the hassle of physically removing and swapping a SIM from a device. This is made possible because all eSIMs are programmed with a permanent eSIM ID (EID) at the factory. This number is used to associate the device with an existing carrier subscription and also for creating a secure channel for programming the eSIMs. With the bold step taken by Apple to go all out and make most of their latest iPhones fully eSIM in the US, network providers in other countries will have to hasten their support for it. This will create a rise in adaptability for a foreseeable future where all smartphones will be completely eSIM enabled.

SOURCE [url]en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESIM[/url]

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Great Stuff!
Thanks for sharing OP..

E-Sim Demystified

Just like memory card, SIM card go soon become history.

Parachoko:
Just like memory card, SIM card go soon become history.

Tech... Things will always change.

Oneirus:
terrible, what if you want to change network

Read the roommate analogy again.

Thanks for sharing this piece of information.

Apple always liking to limit people ; although the idea is nice and is built for a specific niche of people, I want to have the liberty to interchange my Sims whenever and however I like; and unless this allows that as is so with normal physical Sims, I will associate it with the inconvenience and uselessness of removing headphone jacks from phones and calling such phones premium .
Note to whoever would reply me : This is my opinion and I no use ur data post am

Nice development from apple

Likes for sharing op

Tunex252:
Nice development from apple

It's not new though, a couple of their phones & Google pixel phones use it already

No swapping of Sims between phones when the phone battery is low