In a smartphone, space is limited and manufacturers are constantly seeking to miniaturize components to integrate a larger battery or new innovative sensors. And everything goes, including the SIM card! There was already a giant step taken in 2012, when switching from Micro-SIM to Nano-SIM. Now, the time is clearly for the eSIM, or electronic SIM, which is none other than a chip soldered to the motherboard. More and more smartphones contain an eSIM, but there are very few manufacturers who have dared to take the plunge and simply remove the physical SIM card drawer in favor of the eSIM.
A SIM card integrated into the smartphone chip
Among these manufacturers, however, there is one that weighs very heavily: Apple! In the United States, the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro only ship eSIMs and no doubt this is what awaits Europe, surely with the iPhone 15 expected this fall. But despite its novelty, the eSIM already knows its successor: it is the iSIM! The “integrated SIM” takes place directly in the chip of the smartphone.
For manufacturers, this means additional space gained (this is particularly important for small connected objects such as watches), as well as a reduction in construction and logistics costs, not to mention greater capacities: l ‘iSIM can indeed take advantage of the chip directly. It is up to the manufacturers to develop new functionalities around this technology.
The iSIM already exists: Qualcomm and Thales have inserted it into the Snapdragon 8 Gen. 2! And the component has received the green light from the GSMA, the telecommunications industry association that brings together all operators. The latter will benefit from the same access to the iSIM as to the eSIM, so subscriptions can be managed remotely. ” Alongside the increasingly popular eSIM, Thales’ 5G iSIM offers device manufacturers and mobile operators even greater freedom. This allows them to offer their customers wireless, effortless connectivity and an ever more interesting and accessible range of services. “, explains Guillaume Lafaix, vice-president of integrated solutions at Thales.
This technology therefore has something to attract not only operators, but also manufacturers. It remains to be seen what users will think of it, some of whom may regret the flexibility offered by the good old SIM card. According to Kaleido Intelligence, 300 million iSIMs are expected to be in circulation by 2027, or 19% of all eSIM shipments.
