Samsung and Apple are Working to Make SIM Card Disappear

Changing your phone plan between different carriers is a mammoth task these days. All those requests, applications, and SIM card replacements are just too much. But, in near future, this could be a thing of past, and switching your carrier will be a lot easier. This may happen as Samsung and Apple are working to make the SIM card disappear.

Apple and Samsung are working with the GSM Association, the representative body of all cellphone makers across the world, to make a standard SIM card that will remain embedded in your phone. This will make switching between the carriers easy. This embedded SIM card is being called e-SIM.


The SIM cards being used today are provided your network service provider. It’s a small plastic piece that stores your phone number, data plan info and identifies your device to your service provider. The new e-SIM will allow your phone to switch between your service providers easily. As I’ve called it “the SIM card that will disappear”, this SIM will be out of your reach.

World’s two biggest names in the smartphone industry are in “advanced talks” about the launch of these e-SIM cards, according to the Financial Times. These standards are expected to be finalized in 2016.

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The GSM Association tells that e-SIM card is gaining a widespread support from the carrier community. It has already got the support of AT&T, Orange, Telefonica, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat and Hutchison Whampoa.

Apple has been trying to make the SIM disappear for a long time, and it looks like this is it. The new e-SIM cards sound similar to Apple SIM, which was launched by the iPad maker earlier this year. It was available for the cellular version of iPad Air 2 and worked with multiple carriers.