Technical specs listed on Apple’s official web site affirm that that each iPhone 16 mannequin – from the bottom iPhone 16 to the top-tier iPhone 16 Professional Max – will nonetheless have a nano-SIM card slot when offered outdoors the US. This is applicable to a variety of nations, together with main markets just like the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, and China, in addition to many others.
This is not nearly sustaining the established order. In most of those areas, the iPhone 16 additionally helps eSIM, that means customers can have dual-SIM performance. This affords flexibility for vacationers, these juggling work and private strains, or anybody eager to benefit from totally different provider offers.
iPhone 16 fashions offered outdoors the U.S. nonetheless characteristic a bodily SIM card tray | Picture credit score — Apple
The distinction with the US is stark. For the reason that iPhone 14, Apple has been pushing eSIM adoption domestically, eradicating the bodily SIM tray fully. The corporate has successfully touted eSIM’s safety advantages (similar to that it could’t be bodily faraway from a stolen cellphone) and the comfort of managing a number of eSIM profiles digitally. Â
So, why the distinction? Whereas eSIM adoption is rising globally, it is not common. Some carriers or areas might have slower rollouts, or customers may merely desire the familiarity of a bodily SIM. Holding the tray ensures Apple’s new iPhones stay accessible to the widest potential viewers.
This doesn’t suggest the bodily SIM is protected endlessly. Apple’s long-term objective appears clear, and as eSIM infrastructure improves worldwide, we might see future iPhones drop the tray fully. However for now, it is a reminder that even within the fast-paced tech world, transitions take time. The iPhone 16‘s SIM state of affairs displays this, catering to each the cutting-edge and the comfy, relying on the place you’re.
