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0 pointscageface3y ago0 comments

Anybody who thinks esims don't have issues hasn't seen much of the "real" world. In a lot of countries esim still isn't even an option, especially if you're a visitor. At least in developing countries getting a physical SIM is as easy as paying a small fee on your way out the airport and popping it in your phone or picking one up in a convenience store.

I just arrived here in Panama and got a local sim for $5/week from a grocery store. The esim options were 2x this price and required installing special apps.

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bodyfour3y ago

My bet is that this is going to change a lot, very soon.

Apple apparently felt comfortable enough with the eSIM situation in the US to drop legacy-SIM already. The fact that they couldn't do this worldwide yet is because, as you say, eSIM availability is still spotty around the world.

However, the fact that they're moving to eSIM-only is a huge flashing warning to telcos around the world that the time to sort out their eSIM support is now. Otherwise, they'll soon be chasing away their affluent iPhone users.

I think the transition will now proceed pretty quickly. Physical SIMs have only continued on due to market inertia.

In a few years we'll look back and think "remember when SIM cards were physical objects... that was weird wasn't it?"

dathinab3y ago

Appel was a major driver of esim because they are obsessed with controlling every part of their phone so having a SIM card they don't control in their phone didn't fit well with them at all.

So dropping the SIM in the US is more a consumer hostile move to save a few cents and force them to use the tech Apple wants you to use then anything else.

They can't do that in many other countries as neither carrier nor population where okay with accepting not having a SIM slot.

eSIM is easily usable in the EU many people still insist on using physical sim cards for various reasons, similar "unlocked" phones are the standard in many EU countries. I'm not even sure it's legal to sell carrier locked phones in all EU countries, I think it isn't at least in some.

wnissen3y ago

I think you underestimate how easy Apple has made it to switch carriers with eSIMs. I can have several stored on my phone and activate them with a few touches. Very consumer friendly, no need to go to the store or even shuffle SIM cards while taxiing to the gate.

srmarm3y ago

I agree, I also remember when sim cards were credit card sized!

nsriv3y ago

I keep seeing this sentiment and it's incredibly obvious that people are traveling to European or developed Asian countries. The sim situation in most other countries is exactly as you describe if not worse, and that's also accounting for language barriers between the traveler and the vendors.

WastingMyTime893y ago

Airalo just works in most of the world. I travel quite a lot and eSIM made my life a whole lot simpler.

Before you had to find an operator kiosk at the airport and negotiate with someone there who might or might not speak a language you speak to try to get a pre-paid vaguely firing your need if one exists. Now you can just pre-buy in app before your flight and everything pretty much just works.

gwill3y ago

can't a regular sim be typed in manually and used as an esim? at least that's how it worked on my iphone a year ago.

jackson14423y ago

eSIM can be sold in physical stores as well, just as a QR code rather than a physical chip. Sibling comment addresses the cost issue as well.

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