What does the missing SIM card slot on iPhone 14 mean for users

• Apple ditched the ditched the physical SIM card slot in favor of the eSIM in the iPhone 14 series in select markets.
• Using eSIM, users can use multiple cellular plans on a single device.
• In the US, the iPhone 14 series supports eSIM from six carriers.

Apple announced the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro during its Far Out event yesterday, and it came with some big news for customers in the United States.

iPhones have supported eSIMs for a while now, but now with iPhone 14, dropping support for a physical SIM card slot in the US means there will no longer be a SIM card slot. The removal of a physical SIM card slot may come as a shock to some.

Further, Apple’s website has also confirmed that iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will come with dual eSIM support, allowing users to use multiple cellular plans on a single device.

During Apple’s Far Out event, the company said the eSIM requirement will prevent anyone from removing the SIM card if the device gets stolen or lost. Also, switching between cellular plans will become easy.

What is an eSIM?

An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows users to activate a cellular plan without having to use a physical SIM. The eSIM availability is rapidly expanding but the technology is still not available in all countries, which explains why iPhone 14 models will remain available with a SIM card tray outside of the US.

The removal of the headphone jack by Apple was initially mocked in 2017, but now, most high-end smartphones don’t include it. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see if the same ends up happening with eSIMs.

Apple’s support page says the company supports eSIM from six carriers in the US – AT&T, T-Mobile, Truphone, Ubigi, Verizon Wireless, and Visible. Absent are other carriers such as Google Fi, Consumer Cellular, and Mint Mobile.

According to research firm Counterpoint, the eSIM technology could see faster adoption once Apple uses it in Phones. It happened similarly with dual cameras, portrait cameras, display notch and Face ID. The same phenomenon could likely repeat with eSIM, the firm said.

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