iPhone 16 models outside of the United States to keep physical SIM cards, as global market anticipates eSIM only option

Each year as Apple releases its next generation of products the web is flooded with discussion from the media, which pinpoint a lack of progress, and the fans, who defend the products of the company. 

2024 is no different. 

Back when Apple launched the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, the company eliminated the physical SIM card tray in the United States in order to focus on eSIM only. At the time, all iPhone 14 series models retained the physical SIM tray outside of the US, as did last year’s iPhone 15 models.

Many have been awaiting the moment when Apple moves all of its phones across the globe to eSIM only. For the time being, customers will still have to wait.

While it’s true that this year’s minimal evolution was notable, it is also not a stretch to say that Apple knows when the time has come to strike. 

Whether one likes it or not, Apple is a brand that is known to set trends.

For years now the company has been betting on eSIM options in the US. Unlike traditional removable SIM cards, eSIMs are embedded into devices and can be reprogrammed when a user switches carriers. 

Apple’s decision to introduce models that do not support a physical SIM undoubtedly contributed to the doubling of eSIM downloads last year, with an increase of 109% according to the TCA.

That decision by Apple was important because eSIMs allow for greater flexibility and convenience, in addition to security improvements and other advantages.

Said Aonghus McMahon, Head of Product at Sim Local, a global leader in the eSIM industry, “In 2022, Apple took the radical decision to make the iPhone 14 an eSIM only device and have stayed with this decision with the iPhone 16. This shows that the USA are ahead when it comes to eSIM adoption compared to most of the rest of the world.”

He added that Apple’s approach of gradually integrating eSIM functionality while still offering the option to choose between a physical SIM and eSIM outside the U.S. is a strategic move.

“It allows users outside of the USA to ease into the eSIM experience while benefiting from the freedom, flexibility and sustainability that eSIMs offer. However, if Apple can continue refining the eSIM activation process, it feels inevitable that the future will be eSIM-only.” 

In an increasingly digital world, there’s no doubt that the telecommunications market is moving toward eSIMs as the definitive replacement for physical SIMs.

As with other advances its adoption may happen gradually, and Apple’s outsized brand and platform will certainly be a key driver in this.

For example, Apple Pay’s mobile payments had a larger impact on adoption than did Google’s Android Pay, despite being launched in 2014, 3 years after Google.