Apple and Samsung to reportedly shift over to e-SIM technology

The Financial Times newspaper reported Thursday that Apple and Samsung are “in advanced talks” with mobile telecom groups on a standardized embedded SIM card for consumer devices, the so-called e-SIM.

The benefits of e-SIMs?

Along with several operators on board, the initial plan will finalize the technical architecture, which will be utilized in an end-to-end remote SIM solution development for consumer devices. But don’t expect these new SIM cards to hit the market until next year, it says.

The two smartphone titans are in talks with the GSM association – which represents hundreds of phone carriers worldwide – and a standard e-sim which would be embedded in future phones is reportedly close to being announced and could be seen in the next generation iPhone.

Meanwhile, confirmation to accept the e-SIM standard has come from AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, Telefonica, Etisalat and Hutchison Whampoa.

The difference with the new e-SIMs is that they won’t be removable, meaning that there will no longer be a need for a SIM card slot on smartphones, potentially freeing up more room for new built-in technology or allowing phones to be even slimmer.

The latest iPads of Apple comes with electronic SIM, but those have been accepted by limited careers – AT&T, T-Mobile and EE in the UK. However, Apple had a good objective at that time and it is in line with GSMA’s goal as well.

Moreover, according to First Post, Apple wants to let the users have the convenience of switching to a local operator whenever they visit other countries.

The tech will be similar to the Apple SIM that made its debut on the Apple iPad Air 2 and enabled users to easily switch networks.

The managing director of BlackBerry India, Sunil Lalvani, told the reporters that they are hoping to release their virtual SIM by the end of the year, according to First Post.