“Apple advises US carriers to prepare for phones with only eSIM” – Tablets and phones – News

Apple may have advised major US carriers to “prepare” for phones that only support eSIM. That reports an anonymous source to MacRumors. This may mean that Apple will eventually introduce iPhones without a physical SIM card slot.

MacRumors writes that the anonymous source also provided a “legitimate-appearing” document to the website, detailing the time frame for this initiative. That document advised US carriers to prepare for the release of eSIM-only smartphones “by September 2022.”

As part of the move, certain U.S. carriers would start selling subscription iPhone 13 models next year without a nano-SIM card in the package. MacRumors writes that this is already happening at Apple Stores and on the Apple website. Buyers of such devices can then activate an eSIM subscription by connecting their phone to Wi-Fi and following on-screen instructions.

This initiative may mean that Apple will no longer provide a physical SIM card slot for some of its upcoming iPhone 14 models, although this has not yet been confirmed. The company typically releases its new iPhones in September, which coincides with the time frame quoted in the alleged MacRumors document. Earlier this month claimed a Brazilian iPhone blog that Apple would do this for the first time in 2023 with some iPhone 15 Pro models, except in countries where eSIM is not available.

Since the iPhone XS from 2018, all iPhones support eSIM. The company’s iPhone 13 series, introduced this year, also includes dual-eSIM support for the first time. Previously, iPhone users could only use dual SIM by combining an eSIM and a nano SIM card. ESIM is not available with all carriers, but various Dutch providers offer support for this, including KPN, Simyo, T-Mobile and Vodafone. In Belgium, Mobile Vikings, Orange and Proximus offer eSIM.

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