And no, I’m not necessarily talking about the upgraded cameras or the better performance, though I’ll touch on those improvements later. Instead, there’s one subtle change that’ll have lasting implications for people who are always on the go: the elimination of the physical SIM card slot.
If you’re unfamiliar, a SIM (which stands for subscriber identity module) card is a small chip that essentially associates your phone number with your cellular provider’s network.
For the past 15 years, Apple has sold iPhone models with a SIM card slot. While some smartphone users may only pop open the SIM tray once during the initial activation process, this slot is incredibly important for international travelers and TPG readers.
Putting an 'e' in SIM card
Instead of the physical SIM card slot, the tech giant is going all-in on a new-ish digital SIM card standard, called SIM.
These embedded SIM cards first debuted on the iPhone XS family, though Apple continued to offer a physical SIM card slot for those who preferred using a chip.
This year, iPhone 14 models sold in the U.S. are dropping the physical SIM slot. I’d imagine that as support for the eSIM standard expands globally, the tech giant will bring this change to other regions, too.
With eSIM, you don’t need to keep track of a physical SIM card, which can be especially hard when you’re crisscrossing the globe carrying multiple chips for different carriers.
Over the years, I’ve lost a few of those 9-millimeter-by-12-millimeter SIM cards, despite my best efforts to keep them in a safe compartment in my backpack
Also, physical SIMs are less secure — if your phone is lost or stolen, someone could remove your SIM card to start making calls and texts (and receiving two-factor authentication codes) with your phone number.
With the digital SIM card technology, the latest iPhone 14 models can store at least eight eSIMs on a single device, which should be plenty for most trips. (Depending on the size of the SIM card profile, you may have room to store many more eSIMs on your phone.)
