iPhone 14 only comes with eSIM on the market
Apple wants to make an already well-known feature the standard on the iPhone 14 and as it usually goes, that means removing the old-fashioned alternative.
The way Apple adds new features has its lovers and haters. Those haters usually stumble over the fact that the competition has these features for a long time and that you are forced to make a choice. Think of removing the aux port (headphone jack) which meant that you had to replace all your cables, or the addition of FaceID, so that you suddenly no longer have a finger scanner. The tactic seems to be that you should forget the ‘old’ solution because the new solution is so much better. With the next feature that will be removed from the iPhone 14, that logic seems to be the same.
eSIM
Then it’s about eSIM. For those who missed it: eSIM is a SIM card that does not require a physical SIM card. Phones with an eSIM can receive what is normally on a card with built-in hardware, so you don’t have to deal with a SIM card anymore. Apple has integrated the option for an eSIM in the iPhone for a while, but you can still put a physical card in your phone. That’s going to change.
iPhone 14 only with eSIM
According to a tipster to MacRumors, Apple has advised the largest phone suppliers in the US to prepare for eSIM-only smartphones by 2022. The document does not specifically address the iPhone, but given that Apple “shares” this, it seems that obvious. According to that logic, the iPhone 14 will come on the market without a SIM tray. That was originally the plan for the iPhone 15 in 2023. It should be noted right away that the original plan was to equip ‘some’ models without a physical SIM, which is probably the same for the 14. So it could be that the regular 14 models still come with a SIM tray and the Pro models without.
It would not mean much for the Netherlands, because many or not all providers have the option to convert your physical card to eSIM. So be warned if you are targeting an iPhone 14 and would like to keep the physical card. We can’t imagine it, but you never know.
