Domestic mobile phones are finally going to support eSIM, but I advise you not to have too high expectations.

I wonder if you guys came across this piece of news recently - China Unicom, China Mobile, and China Telecom, the three major operators, are going to fully restart the eSIM service in the second half of this year.

You know, eSIM has always been a bit of a niche in China. In the past few years, it has mainly been used in "supporting role" devices like smartwatches, tablets, and the Internet of Things. For years, the mobile phone industry has been advocating replacing physical SIM card slots with eSIM, but there has been more talk than action.

At first, I thought the operators were just "reheating old food," picking up the service that had been discontinued before, and I didn't really pay much attention.

It wasn't until recently when China Unicom directly launched the activation page for mobile phone eSIM that I realized things weren't that simple - Wow, eSIM is finally going to enter the domestic mobile phone market. Your next phone might not have a place to insert a physical SIM card.

Actually, the principle of eSIM is quite simple. It integrates the functions of a traditional SIM card directly into the device's chip, eliminating the need for the traditional SIM card slot.

After freeing up this space, manufacturers can install a larger battery in the phone, equip a more powerful camera module, or make the phone lighter and thinner. And theoretically, when we want to switch carriers, we don't have to go to the business hall anymore. We can just write the number in the air, without having to kowtow to the operators~

Moreover, an eSIM can store several numbers (although they can't be used simultaneously). When traveling abroad and wanting to get a local mobile number, you might be able to do it with just a few taps on the screen.

Sounds great, right? But now I want to pour some cold water on you - Regarding the fact that domestic mobile phones are likely to use eSIM soon, you'd better not have too high expectations because after it is implemented, the troubles behind it might be more prominent than the conveniences.

Firstly, there are troubles caused by changing phones.

In the past, changing phones was very simple. We just had to pull out the SIM card and insert it into the new phone. But with eSIM, we have to cancel the eSIM on the old phone first and then download the configuration file on the new phone to write in the number. If the old phone is lost or broken, we have to go to the offline business hall to cancel it.

If you're like the hardware editorial department, where we often have to switch numbers to new phones for reviews, I'm afraid we'll trigger the operator's risk control and get our accounts blocked...

Secondly, there is the issue of the handling process.

Theoretically, eSIM can write numbers in the air. For example, foreign operators like T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T provide a QR code on their official websites. After purchasing a package, you just need to scan the QR code with your phone to write the number into the eSIM chip of your phone, without having to go to the business hall specifically.

But in the current domestic environment, it's very likely that we still have to go to the business hall. For example, China Unicom's eSIM mobile phone service requires users who are applying for it for the first time to "apply in person" or "go to the hall to apply." If it's an offline operation, then the handling process is actually not much different from that of a physical SIM card.

There might also be troubles when traveling abroad.

There are still many countries and regions around the world that use physical SIM cards. For ordinary mobile phones, you can just buy a local mobile phone card and insert it:

If you take a mobile phone that only supports eSIM to these places and don't want to lose your Internet connection, you can only choose an alternative way - buy an eSIM travel card.

Yes, just like physical SIM cards, eSIM also has travel cards. Many mobile phones' built-in "international Internet access" function is actually achieved through eSIM (a single-purpose eSIM pre-installed by the manufacturer, only used for roaming data, not involving functions like calls and text messages).

After you buy a package in it, your phone will generate a virtual SIM card. Through the over - the - air card - writing technology, the local operator's configuration file will be downloaded to your phone. In this way, you can still connect to the Internet without inserting a physical card.

But the problem is that the pricing of these eSIM travel cards is usually more expensive than directly buying a local physical travel SIM card. I randomly selected three popular tourist destination countries and compared their prices. Generally, physical SIM cards are cheaper, but they also have a relatively shorter validity period.

Also, don't expect domestic mobile phones to be able to write overseas eSIM freely. Even if eSIM is launched, it will probably follow the same path as the current cellular iPad -

Domestic devices can only activate the eSIM of domestic operators in China. Only when abroad can they activate the eSIM of foreign operators. International version devices do not support activating the domestic eSIM packages of domestic operators, but they can use the international services of domestic operators, and the fees will be more expensive than domestic packages.

This means that if you buy a mobile phone with a foreign eSIM, you might miss out on those generous domestic packages. This wouldn't be a problem with a physical SIM card device~

To put it bluntly, eSIM is not really a revolutionary technology. Compared with physical SIM cards, it still has many limitations. It's not like 4G and 5G, which completely crush 2G and 3G. However, in fact, the key to the success of eSIM in China lies with the operators.

Currently, China Unicom is the most active in supporting eSIM. It has resumed the eSIM service in 25 provinces and municipalities and has quietly launched the activation page for eSIM mobile phone services for a pilot. China Mobile's eSIM service is also in the process of gradual promotion, and subsequent services will be gradually opened.

As for China Telecom, it is the most conservative among them and is still in a wait - and - see state. The customer service said that the eSIM service has not been upgraded yet and cannot be handled temporarily, and there is no specific notice on when the upgrade will be completed. I checked the smartwatch I bought before, and sure enough, I couldn't activate China Telecom's eSIM:

Looking at how these operators promoted 4G, 5G, and smartwatch eSIM, we can tell that mobile phone eSIM will probably follow the old pattern - first conduct pilots in a few first - and second - tier cities and then gradually expand to other cities. It might take three to five years before it can be used nationwide...

This means that if the eSIM mobile phone service hasn't been launched in your city, even if you buy a mobile phone that supports eSIM, you won't be able to use it locally.

Moreover, there are more than a billion mobile users in China. The traditional way of using physical SIM cards, which is just to insert and use, has been deeply rooted in people's minds. It's almost impossible for it to completely disappear from the historical stage in five or eight years. We can't ask everyone to immediately throw away the physical cards they've been using for more than a decade.

In other words, during the transition from physical SIM cards to eSIM, if mobile phone manufacturers only produce eSIM mobile phones, they will be excluding a large number of users. So I speculate that in the future, domestic mobile phones are likely to adopt the "physical card + eSIM" solution -

The eSIM in China can only write the numbers of the three major domestic operators, and the physical SIM card slot serves as a guarantee so that the mobile phone can still be used when bought.

The US - version iPhone initially used such a solution. Since the iPhone XS was launched in 2018, Apple has used the hybrid solution of "physical SIM card + eSIM." It wasn't until the iPhone 14 series that it dared to completely remove the physical SIM card slot in the United States and fully switch to eSIM.

After all, the implementation of new technologies has never been smooth. For eSIM to replace physical SIM cards, the operators' service processes need to keep up, users' habits need to be cultivated, regulatory boundaries need to be clarified, and manufacturers' designs need to be optimized... There are many muddy waters to wade through and many pitfalls to avoid.

In my opinion, rather than having to make compromises everywhere when using eSIM, I'm more looking forward to the day when mobile phones can directly connect to satellites - no matter whether you're in a remote mountain forest or an isolated oceanic island, when you take out your phone, it has full signal, can refresh messages instantly, and can determine your location immediately. This kind of "always - online" sense of security is the ultimate form of communication technology~

Source of pictures and materials:

gsma.com

Some pictures are from the Internet

Apple's official website, OPPO's official website

How does an eSIM card work? How to set up an eSIM?

Weibo, Exclusive | People familiar with the matter: It is reported that the three major operators will fully restart eSIM

Honner, What is an eSIM Card: Everything You Need to Know

This article is from the WeChat official account "Negative Review Hardware Department", author: Panghu, editor: Milo & Mianxian. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.