Mobile SIM cards have been with us since 1991, although their size has been reducing over the years. The original format resembled a credit card, after which came the Mini-SIM, the Micro-SIM and the current Nano-SIM, where the chip is practically ‘naked’.
These cards, essential for making calls or browsing the Internet from our smartphone, have always been synonymous with hassle. From the moment we launch the device: we have to find out what type of card it uses and, until not long ago, request the exact size from the operator (or trust it and use scissors to adapt the SIM to the phone tray). The latter was solved with die-cut cards, but the setbacks inherent to a change of operator were not.
Portability involves keeping an eye on the mailbox to insert the new SIM into the gadget in question; Crossing our fingers that it arrives on the scheduled date and not being left incommunicado. Luckily, the next generation of technology is already among us: the ‘eSIM’.
The advantages of eSIM
The eSIM (or ‘Embedded SIM’, 6 x 5 millimeters) is a card soldered to the motherboard of mobile phones, so it cannot be removed. No more searching for a pin around the house to open the SIM slot of our phone. In addition, the eSIM is much more resistant than its predecessors, whose contacts tend to be damaged if we manipulate them more than necessary.
The conception of an integrated SIM is due to the efforts of manufacturers to market increasingly thinner, lighter and waterproof smartphones. It also represents a clear environmental opportunity: each year around 5 billion SIM cards are manufactured (and discarded) around the world, which represents a massive use of plastics, metals and rare minerals. This makes recycling difficult, which involves chemical and mechanical processes that are as expensive as they are polluting per se.
The solution? Not having to change SIM when going with a company. From now on we will only have to communicate the number of our eSIM to the new operator, that is, the 18 to 21 digits that make up the ICCID or ‘Integrated Circuit Card ID’, so that it can transfer the pertinent information and we can start calling under your network.
And what happens if we lose our cell phone? Until now it was necessary to request a physical duplicate of the SIM, but with the eSIM it will be enough to request that your data (previously stored in the cloud) be transferred to the eSIM of our replacement phone. What’s more, the eSIM is compatible with what is known as ‘MultiSIM’: we can associate the same number with several simultaneous devices, with all the advantages that this entails.
Those who are going to get the most out of eSIMs are international travelers. They will not need a physical SIM to surf the Internet in the United States or Japan; Just hire a virtual one (in advance and usually online) with one of the operators that offer them.
Beyond mobile phones
eSIMs are just as or more convenient in small connected gadgets, such as smartwatches. The possibility of linking them to an operator gives greater autonomy to these watches, so that we can leave our cell phone at home when we go out to exercise, for example.
The first electronic tablets with eSIM are also now on the market. However, Spanish operators continue to be reluctant to use this technology or manage it somewhat erratically. Currently they offer it (at no cost) within our borders: Movistar, O2, Vodafone, Orange, Jazztel, Yoigo and Pepephone.
The activation process is quite simple: in the ‘Mobile data’ section, within our mobile settings, we find the option ‘Add eSIM’ or ‘Add mobile data plan’. There we will proceed to scan the QR code of the eSIM to enable it, after entering your PIN.
Regarding the compatible smartphone models on the market, they are all iPhones starting with the XR and most of the high-end ones manufactured by Samsung (Galaxy S20, S22, S23, Note 20, Fold, Z Flip and later). Google, Sony, Xiaomi, Motorola, Nokia, Vivo, OnePlus, Honor, Huawei and Oppo are other brands with terminals prepared for eSIM, although in these cases it is advisable to pay attention to the specifications of each terminal.
The future of the eSIM seems as bright as it is inevitable in the end: a recent study dictates that 70% of devices connected to the IoT (‘Internet of Things’ in English) will have a virtual SIM incorporated during the next five years Including new cars on the roads, which will have permanent connectivity, provide secure (encrypted) WiFi access points and store driver information in the cloud.
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