If you are thinking of buying the new Pixel 4, or you have taken your eye on the iPhone 11, you may have seen that its features also include the integration of an eSIM. Do youWhat is an eSIM exactly and how it works? And most importantly, is it really worth it?
What is an eSIM?
An eSIM or «virtual SIM» is nothing more than an integrated SIM card inside an electronic device. They were created with the intention of replacing current SIM cards, and the big difference is that eSIMs are much smaller in size.
As they are integrated into the motherboard of the mobile, we find that with this type of cards they cannot be inserted or removed from the device. However, that does not mean that we cannot change the telephone number or operator, since eSIMs can be overwrittenwithout major complications.
In fact, these types of changes should be much more agile with eSIMs, since in theory it is not necessary to go to the store to pick up the card or wait for the company to send it to us by mail. With a simple phone call or Internet management we could have our new number 100% operational and ready to go to war.
Currently in Spain there are 5 operators that offer the eSIM service in some of their rates: Movistar, O2, Orange, Pepephone and Vodafone.
Differences between an eSIM and a standard SIM card
On a technical level, eSIMs use the same technology and work under the same GMS networks than a SIM card to use. What they do differ is in size: if a nano SIM is about 108 mm² in size, the eSIMs stay at 30 mm², occupying a surface area 4 times smaller.
The other great divergence, as we mentioned a little above, is that the eSIMs being integrated into the circuitry of the device, cannot be removed or tampered with by the user (in case of breakdown it can be a blow to the stomach).
Advantages of using an eSIM card
At the design level, taking up so little space, if the manufacturer decides to integrate an eSIM it has the advantage of having more space to add new components or include a larger battery.
This also makes it possible to reorganize the internal layout of the components in the most convenient way, since it is not necessary for the SIM to be on one of the sides to be able to access it. Therefore, it is also much easier to achieve other extra functionalities, such as that the device is waterproof.
The biggest advantage for the user, however, is that they no longer need to worry about losing the card or finding a clip with which to open the SIM tray.
In addition, eSIMs greatly facilitate the use of dual SIM in telephony -which has been having 2 phone numbers-, since at least for now, all mobile phones with eSIM also come with a slot for nanoSIM.
Finally, if our operator allowed it, we could also use the same phone number to connect to the Internet from different devices with an integrated eSIM card.
Disadvantages
But not everything is flowers. If we have an eSIM we are also going to have some other problem, especially at the operational level. If at any given moment we stop having line or data, we cannot remove the eSIM and connect it to another mobile to check if the problem is with the card or the device itself.
To all this must be added, in addition, that like all new technologies, these take a while to implement, and at least so far in 2019, the availability of eSIMs is quite limited. We have the latest iPhone (iPhone 11, iPhone XS and XR) the Pixel 2, 3 and 4, as well as some smartwatches (Apple Watch, Samsung Watch, and Huawei Watch 2), but little else.
Conclusions
Everything indicates that eSIMs will be the future of mobile telephony and smart devices, and it is likely that they will play a very important role in what is known as the Internet of Things. Our next (or next) smartphone may even have an eSIM, but at the moment it is a technology that is still taking off. It is undoubtedly an interesting complement when buying a new mobile, but in no case should it be considered a determining factor (unless we are regulars of dual SIM for work reasons and we are tired of losing cards every two by three).
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