Apple iPhone 14: What Are e-SIMs And How Do They Work?

Apple on Wednesday launched its latest iPhone 14 series and in a first, the tech giant has done away with SIM card trays on iPhone models available in the US.

While the option to use an e-SIM instead of a physical one was available for iPhone users from iPhone X series and even its recent cellular iPads and Apple Watches but it remains to be seen why Apple has removed the SIM card tray from US models altogether.

Last year's iPhone 13 line even allowed for multiple eSIMs to be enabled at once.  

The eSIM lets you change a wireless carrier, data, or service plan through software rather than having to swap a physical SIM card. It’s hardly a new technology, but it’s only within the last few years that eSIM has become more common on mainstream mobile devices.

Apple said that major carriers, including T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, will provide resources to assist with eSIM-related questions, service upgrades, and changes.

Apple has supported eSIMs alongside physical SIMs dating back to the iPhone X series, as well as cellular-enabled iPads and Apple Watches. As CNET notes, last year’s iPhone 13 even allowed for multiple eSIMs to be enabled at once.

A physical SIM card contains the code a network can use to identify an individual, while an e-SIM lets code be written onto the phone itself.

Advantages and disadvantages of e-SIMs

One of the advantages is you will not have to change the plastic chip in case you switch to a different operator. At the same time, eSIMs support multiple carriers plans so you can use more than one phone number on the same phone.

With some carriers, you would have to use a new SIM card to upgrade from 4G to 5G, but with e-SIM cards, you can avoid the hassle.

Among the major disadvantages are that not all mobile networks support e-SIM. Another con is it gets tough if you change phone as there is a major chunk of personal information associated with eSIMs.

Another key issue could be hacking. The data in an eSIM may be encrypted and hacking a virtual SIM may be tough. At the same time, eSIMs can’t be physically removed and placed in other devices. However, they aren’t completely safe from hacking as well.