We're expecting some big changes for the iPhone 14 lineup, and one of those changes could affect the humble SIM card, as the iPhone 14 may not have a removable one, or at least some versions might not have one at all.
That's according to Emma Mohr-McClune, director of technology services at GlobalData, who says that Apple will likely release an eSIM-only variant of one or more iPhone 14 models.
Current iPhones already have an eSIM (meaning a digital SIM card, rather than a physical card that you can swap out), but they also have a slot for a physical SIM card. So if Mohr-McClune is correct, this location could be removed in a version of iPhone 14.
Apparently, Apple is likely to mainly sell this model directly, albeit in partnership with mobile networks, while a dual SIM version with physical SIM and eSIM would remain the main option.
From the sounds of it, this is more of a prediction than any sort of insider tip, so we'd definitely take it with a grain of salt, but it's been rumored for some time now that Apple will eventually go eSIM-only.
Therefore, this approach would make sense as it would offer a smoother and more gradual transition to an eSIM-only future.
Review: eSIMs are the future, and that's a good thing
It's probably only a matter of time before Apple ditches physical SIM cards. Despite the rumors that this will happen, the fact that eSIMs have been present in his phones for years suggests that he sees them as the future.
That's a good thing too, because eSIMs have a lot of advantages over physical cards. They take up less space than a traditional SIM card, so the space can be used for other components or can allow for a smaller device. In theory, eSIMs can also support multiple networks at the same time and allow you to switch networks without changing the physical SIM card.
Therefore, it is a more elegant and modern solution than the SIM cards that most of us still use today. But they need full adoption by networks and consumers alike, and a big company like Apple pushing for that is likely to speed up the process.
Via BGR