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Apple’s latest smartphone, the iPhone 14, comes with some new features and improvements, along with a new notch design for the iPhone 14 series. But one unique feature that both will have is that they will be shipping without any physical SIM trays.
Neither iPhone 14 nor iPhone 14 Pro will have any physical tray for users to insert their SIM cards. Instead, phone users will be using an eSIM to operate their phones.
An eSIM is a programmable SIM that is usually directly installed on the SoC as an eUICC chip. These chips allow users to change their SIM and carrier without physically needing to change the SIM card in their mobile phones. Authentication is done while connected to a WiFi network. While this would be a welcome relief to many, only iPhone 14s sold in the US will come without physical SIM trays. Apple has said that eSIM will be the only way to authenticate carriers in iPhone 14 in the US. US-based telecom carriers like T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T will provide support for eSIM-related questions, service upgrades, and changes.
While the technology isn’t new, the iPhone 14 is the first smartphone from Apple to ditch physical SIM trays, at least in the US. The company has supported eSIM in iPhone XS, XS Max, XR, and other devices like cellular-enabled iPads and Apple Watches. Apple says that eight or more eSIMs can be installed on an iPhone anytime, and two phone numbers can be used simultaneously. With the upcoming iOS 16, you can even transfer your eSIM between iPhones via Bluetooth.
Outside of the US, iPhone 14 will still come with a SIM card tray with nano-SIM slots.
