Companies like Apple and Huawei are promoting the trend of cardless mobile phones.

It is reported that Huawei has launched a new triple-foldable phone supporting eSIM, which is expected to become the first commercially available smartphone with eSIM in China. According to industry insiders interviewed by Star Market Daily, Huawei does have relevant plans. Moreover, one of the models in the upcoming Huawei Mate 80 series may also support eSIM.

In addition, a relevant person in charge at OPPO told a reporter from Star Market Daily that the first batch of eSIM-supported phones are expected to be launched by the end of this year.

eSIM is a technology that directly embeds a traditional SIM card into a device's chip. Users don't need to insert a physical SIM card, which can save internal space in terminals such as mobile phones and tablets. Domestic operators launched eSIM services several years ago, but new applications for this service were suspended in 2023 due to factors such as security risks.

However, this year, China Mobile and China Unicom have resumed handling eSIM services, mainly targeting the Internet of Things and smart wearable device sectors, excluding mobile phone services for now.

Multiple industry insiders told a reporter from Star Market Daily that for smart terminal manufacturers, eSIM represents a clear development trend. However, policy regulations and the attitudes of operators will affect the implementation speed of eSIM technology in mobile phone terminals.

Mobile Phone Manufacturers like Apple and Huawei Actively Layout for eSIM

Apple is the most proactive company among mobile phone manufacturers in supporting eSIM. As early as 2011, Apple filed a patent for eSIM cards and first achieved commercial use in the iPad Air 2. Around 2017, Google and Apple gradually began to support eSIM on mobile phones while still retaining physical SIM card slots. In 2022, the iPhone 14 released by Apple in the United States canceled the physical SIM card slot and only supported eSIM.

According to media reports, the upcoming Apple iPhone 17 Air, which will be launched in September, will feature an unprecedentedly slim design and will directly cancel the physical SIM card slot.

A person in the industrial chain told Star Market Daily that if Huawei successfully launches a triple-foldable flagship phone supporting eSIM in September, it will seize the first-mover advantage in eSIM in China from Apple.

In addition to Huawei and Apple, other mobile phone manufacturers are also laying out for eSIM.

Xiaomi launched its first eSIM-supported Xiaomi 15 Ultra in overseas markets in March this year. And a relevant person in charge at OPPO told a reporter from Star Market Daily that the first batch of eSIM-supported phones are expected to be launched by the end of this year.

The Research Report on Hot Issues in the eSIM Industry (2025) released by the Taier Terminal Laboratory of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology shows that in recent years, the number of countries and regions providing eSIM mobile phone services globally has increased significantly, from 24 at the end of 2018 to 123 in mid-2024 (excluding roaming services). Meanwhile, the number of operators offering eSIM mobile phone services has grown from 45 in 2018 to 441 in June 2024.

The GSMA Intelligence predicts that by the end of 2025, there will be approximately 1 billion eSIM smartphone connections globally, and this number will increase to 6.9 billion by 2030, accounting for three-quarters of the total smartphone connections.

Operators Restart eSIM Services, with China Unicom Being the Most Proactive

Domestic operators launched eSIM services several years ago, but new service applications were completely suspended in 2023.

In November 2017, China Unicom cooperated with Huawei to launch the Huawei smartwatch supporting the eSIM independent number service and initiated a service pilot in seven cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. Later, in March 2019, China Unicom expanded the eSIM independent number service for wearable devices from the pilot cities to the whole country.

China Telecom launched an eSIM service pilot in four cities - Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Chengdu - in 2018 and later expanded it to three more pilot cities, namely Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Hangzhou. China Mobile also launched a pilot of the eSIM one-number dual-terminal service in seven cities including Shanghai and Tianjin in 2018.

However, in July 2023, the three major operators suspended the handling of eSIM services on the grounds of "service maintenance and upgrade." Although existing users could continue to use the service, new users were unable to apply.

A person in the telecommunications industrial chain told the reporter that security risks were the main reason. At that time, the remote writing mechanism of eSIM was exploited by criminals, leading to a surge in fraud cases.

However, this year, China Mobile and China Unicom have resumed handling eSIM services and gradually launched them in multiple cities. A person in the smart terminal industrial chain told the reporter that among the three major operators, China Unicom is the most proactive, while China Telecom is the slowest. This is because China Telecom's Tiantong satellite communication service requires authentication based on a physical SIM card.

At the beginning of July this year, China Unicom was the first to resume eSIM services in 25 provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, mainly targeting the Internet of Things and smart wearable device sectors.

On July 11, the OPPO Watch X2 series of smartwatches launched China Mobile's "one-number dual-terminal" eSIM service, becoming the first case of eSIM commercial use on a consumer-grade terminal after the suspension in 2023. However, phone numbers in Yunnan Province are not currently supported for activation, and users in Sichuan Province need to go through real-name registration offline.

Subsequently, on July 14, China Unicom quietly launched a test page for eSIM mobile phone services, but the page was taken down that night.

The Implementation of eSIM on Mobile Phones is Still Affected by Multiple Factors

Multiple analysts told Star Market Daily that the future development of eSIM on mobile phones mainly depends on policy regulations and the enthusiasm of operators.

Yang Guang, a senior chief analyst at Omdia, believes that for smart terminal manufacturers, eSIM is a relatively clear trend. The main advantage is that it allows mobile phones to be made slimmer and more compact, and it is also easier to achieve dust and water resistance. The challenges of eSIM lie in the attitudes of operators and regulatory factors.

"eSIM has no physical card, which makes it easier for consumers to switch between operator networks. This is why operators around the world are quite cautious about mobile phones supporting eSIM. Compared with mobile phones, operators are more proactive about new services such as wearable devices because it is beneficial for expanding emerging markets. In addition, security risks such as anti-telecom fraud associated with eSIM technology have increased regulatory pressure."

Currently, the demand from terminal manufacturers such as Apple and Huawei has played a crucial role in the resumption of eSIM services. Yang Guang believes that if there are more positive changes in the business strategies of operators and regulatory policies, it can be expected that eSIM on mobile phones will see significant development.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Caixinlian AI Daily", written by Huang Xinyi and published by 36Kr with authorization.