From SIM to eSIM: The Next Step in Digital Evolution

With the digital revolution still ongoing globally, the next touchable to be made obsolete is sim cards. The introduction of eSim lately has received a lot of attention, especially from people who are intermittently on road or onboard. Just as the history of digitalization depicts, eSim has also made things a lot easier for smartphone users, removing many hurdles faced by people while procuring a sim card, registering it and putting it into a phone.

eSim is the next panacea for travelers. Now they do not have to worry about buying a new sim card when traveling to a foreign country, nor they have to ask foreigners about the best economical data package for a week. All could be achieved now with a few taps on your smartphone.

What Is an eSim?

An eSim is a digital sim card already built into your smartphone. It functions just like softwares do on a phone. You can receive and register your eSim by using your phone. You can procure more than one eSim at a time, and even two eSims can work simultaneously.

Why Prefer It to the Physical?

eSims have many advantages. If you are traveling from your home country to a foreign, you will not need to look for a new sim card to connect to loved ones or use the internet in the foreign country. Because with eSims your number remains the same even in a foreign country, you can just switch eSims to use the one better suited to the territory, without going through the process of buying a new sim card there and replacing the old one.

Being digital also gives access to things beforehand. You can easily choose economical data packages before you leave your own country, and you can keep repeating the process if you are on a new tour.

Also, switching sims physically is sometimes so irritating. Who does not want to get rid of it once and for all?

The infographic above by CPR shows eSims are the future. You might not even have the choice of picking the physical over the digital in the near future. Apple has already taken the step by removing the sim slot from iPhone 14. Some Samsung Galaxy versions and Google Pixel versions also support eSims. Inadvertently, the rest of the smartphone companies will follow suit.

What Companies Are Providing eSims?

Currently, many providers are functioning online, like Nomad, Holafly, Easysim, Airhub and Airalo, with each having its data rates based on country and region. Holafly provides unlimited data for a month for $75 across 30 European countries, but Airalo provides only 10 GB data for $37 for the same time period across the same region. So you must choose the provider giving the most economical rates in the region you are traveling to.

What Devices Support eSims?

Not all devices support eSims. Because it is a new phenomenon, eSims will take some time to replace the physical sims altogether. Presently, recent models of Apple iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy only support the new technology. Check out the full list, courtesy of Holafly: