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Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

arstechnica.com

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Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#41

Post by zamnos »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #14
chamakits wrote: post #4

This seems like an inevitability; since eSIMs are already here, and manufacturers are going to be thrilled to have fewer moving parts. But it’s disappointing all round. I absolutely love how easy it is for me to buy a new phone, swap in my old SIM and I’m instantly using my old number. As painful as transferring everything else is with new phones, at least I easily keep the same number. With this (and I’d guess with…

SIM cards were never swappable for me. They were locked to a phone. Changing to a new handset meant going to the carriers store or having them ship me one. I welcome the ease of portability that eSIM brings.

Hmm but if they're locked to a phone for you, what's preventing phone companies from doing the same thing with esims?

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#42

Post by World177 »

masklinn wrote: post #40
World177 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the carriers probably do not like it, as it allows their customers to easily switch service. I also think it could possibly be part of the reason Apple released an eSIM only phone, as it forces the carriers to use eSIMs.

> it allows their customers to easily switch service. It’s not like switching is difficult even with a physical SIM.

It was really inconvenient to switch to an MVNO or another carrier. You almost always had to order a SIM and wait a week for it to be shipped. Right now, I can activate an eSIM and be using the plan within like 10 minutes. I also am able to continue using my current plan.

In my current setup, I have a plan with primary carrier for my primary number, then a backup data only eSIM with non-expiring data for if I'm SIM swapped or overuse my data plan on my primary plan. I've actually tried and used different MVNOs.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#43

Post by Daz1 »

kalleboo wrote: post #31
Daz1 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not in Japan. Some carriers like Docomo you can't even buy a standalone SIM.

Not true https://onlineshop.smt.docomo.ne.jp/sim-card/index.html I'm on docomo and I only have a SIM from them, I brought my own iPhone from abroad. When I turned my iPhone in to Bic Camera to have the display swapped, I could just swap my SIM into a spare old phone quickly and it worked seamlessly.

Oh that's good, I went into one of their branches and they told me it wasn't possible and I'd have to buy a phone from them. Probably just pushy salespeople trying to meet quota.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#44

Post by chris_overseas »

Reason077 wrote: post #17
chamakits wrote: post #4

This seems like an inevitability; since eSIMs are already here, and manufacturers are going to be thrilled to have fewer moving parts. But it’s disappointing all round. I absolutely love how easy it is for me to buy a new phone, swap in my old SIM and I’m instantly using my old number. As painful as transferring everything else is with new phones, at least I easily keep the same number. With this (and I’d guess with…

> "But it’s disappointing all round. I absolutely love how easy it is for me to buy a new phone, swap in my old SIM and I’m instantly using my old number." In theory, with an eSIM it's even easier to swap in your old SIM because you don't have to deal with the physical SIM card. Especially so if you don't have the physical SIM because it's lost or whatever. In my experience it's super frustrating to have to wait for…

> eSIMs are a massive win when travelling, too. Instantly activate a data plan at cheap local rates in whatever country your travelling to, without having to first get your hands on a physical SIM...

For many years I've owned dual-SIM phones and on many occasions have bought a local SIM a the airport or corner store when travelling for a week or more to countires outside my roaming allowance. This is almost always cheap, usually also easy, but can sometimes be a hassle if it takes a bit of time to track down the SIM.

When I bought my current phone with one physical and one eSIM, I was expecting it to be a huge improvement. The reality so far has been rather different... Twice now I have had to waste a lot of time online shopping around to find an eSIM for the destination country. Most of the international providers are surprisingly expensive (often 10x the cost of a locally bought SIM), have awful websites that look like they were thrown together in a weekend, and they often require you to install their own app to manage the eSIM/account, which is also invariably awful. You're also less likely to have much choice of which network you end up on, which can be a significant issue in less developed countries.

Now that I only have one physical SIM slot and always need it for my home country SIM (my mobile provider doesn't yet even support eSIMs) I regret chosing eSIM over a dual SIM phone. I do expect the situation to improve, but for now at least it still feels like a big step backwards for travel compared to dual SIM.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#45

Post by IshKebab »

gambiting wrote: post #32
jplona wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are eSIMs less convenient for you? In all of the interactions I've had, eSIM works without issue and right away. Most of the times I've needed a physical SIM card I've had to wait for it to be mailed or plan a trip to a physical store, or the old one is the wrong size and I need a new one or an adapter.

I can swap sims in about 30 seconds. With eSim I need to ask my carrier for a new eSim registration code to be generated which takes 48 hours. It's insane and I have no idea why we agreed to this standard.

Sounds like an issue with your carrier rather than the eSIM standard. I recently went to Europe and was able to buy a cheap data eSIM (1GB for £2) and activate it in the airport basically instantly.

With SIMs I would have had to order it through the post like a week in advance, and there's no way I would have gotten that price.

eSIMs are amazingly convenient for travelling: https://esimdb.com/

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#46

Post by World177 »

kalleboo wrote: post #39
Reason077 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "But it’s disappointing all round. I absolutely love how easy it is for me to buy a new phone, swap in my old SIM and I’m instantly using my old number." In theory, with an eSIM it's even easier to swap in your old SIM because you don't have to deal with the physical SIM card. Especially so if you don't have the physical SIM because it's lost or whatever. In my experience it's super frustrating to have to wait for…

eSIM is good when the carrier does a good job of it, but it's terrible when the carrier does a bad job. There are carriers where any change to eSIM must be called in and you have to talk to a rep, where it takes hours to issue, etc. Basically we're going back to the USA-style CDMA days where the carrier is in full control of your experience, which worries me. I agree they're great for the use case of just buying a tr…

> There are carriers where any change to eSIM must be called in and you have to talk to a rep, where it takes hours to issue, etc.

There's also now the option to just keep your primary phone number on a cheap plan, and have multiple other eSIMs for data usage. There's no longer the problem with having to contact a carrier to switch data plans if used in this way.

Though, hopefully in time they will improve the experience anyway.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#47

Post by astrange »

kube-system wrote: post #6
ipv6ipv4 wrote: post #3

Why isn't this a bit of generic software that can run on anything?

As I understand, it’s because they also have some physical security concerns. They operate kind of like a secure enclave I guess.

It's a "secure element" which is almost exactly like a "secure enclave". NFC payments also use them.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#48

Post by numpad0 »

Reason077 wrote: post #17
chamakits wrote: post #4

This seems like an inevitability; since eSIMs are already here, and manufacturers are going to be thrilled to have fewer moving parts. But it’s disappointing all round. I absolutely love how easy it is for me to buy a new phone, swap in my old SIM and I’m instantly using my old number. As painful as transferring everything else is with new phones, at least I easily keep the same number. With this (and I’d guess with…

> "But it’s disappointing all round. I absolutely love how easy it is for me to buy a new phone, swap in my old SIM and I’m instantly using my old number." In theory, with an eSIM it's even easier to swap in your old SIM because you don't have to deal with the physical SIM card. Especially so if you don't have the physical SIM because it's lost or whatever. In my experience it's super frustrating to have to wait for…

What you have described is an “artist’s impression” diagram but not how it works IRL. Having physical SIM removes the requirement of the entire phone having to be a certified malware proof secure device, which is hard and a bit anti-consumer.

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#49

Post by captn3m0 »

jraph wrote: post #23
kube-system wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You still get them in that format (but breakaway into smaller formats) if you buy a bring-your-own-sim kit from many carriers.

Where? Here you can get the "breakaway into smaller formats" thing but not credit-card sized, the biggest size is Mini SIM.

TIL the 1FF size for SIMs (see image at https://mobile.twitter.com/phone_museum/status/1287310071907...). Thanks!

Re: Qualcomm wants to replace eSIMs with iSIMs, has the first certified SoC

#50

Post by JCharante »

chris_overseas wrote: post #44
Reason077 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "But it’s disappointing all round. I absolutely love how easy it is for me to buy a new phone, swap in my old SIM and I’m instantly using my old number." In theory, with an eSIM it's even easier to swap in your old SIM because you don't have to deal with the physical SIM card. Especially so if you don't have the physical SIM because it's lost or whatever. In my experience it's super frustrating to have to wait for…

> eSIMs are a massive win when travelling, too. Instantly activate a data plan at cheap local rates in whatever country your travelling to, without having to first get your hands on a physical SIM... For many years I've owned dual-SIM phones and on many occasions have bought a local SIM a the airport or corner store when travelling for a week or more to countires outside my roaming allowance. This is almost always ch…

While a local sim is always cheaper than something resold, apps like Nomad make buying a 3-5GB esim in the range of $15-25 super easy. It might cost only $2 for that if you were to buy a local sim in-person, but as long as the cost is not absurd then it's worth the convenience of having internet as soon as the plane lands & while going through the airport without having to rely on the wifi.
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