eSIM technology is revolutionising mobile connectivity and shaping the industry. A research report by Counterpoint states that the global market for devices supporting embedded SIM (eSIM) and related technologies is set for “hyper growth” until 2028. It also expects that shipments of supported devices between 2024 and 2030 will reach 9 billion.
This shows just how much the popularity of eSIM technology and international eSIM plans is increasing, especially among travellers and higher-end devices.
Simplifying travel and international roaming
With everything from train tickets to ordering a taxi being digital, travelling with an internet connection is a necessity. For a long time, users have been relying on local SIM cards or roaming. However, both are inconvenient and expensive. SIM cards mean that you need to queue and buy an overpriced card at the airport. On the other hand, roaming involves daily charges and exceeding the daily limit usually leads to extremely high pay-as-you-go rates.
eSIMs have cut a lot of this friction and made it possible to stay connected from the moment you land or cross a border. You only need to buy a travel plan online and activate it at home, so your device will be ready for foreign connections before you even go to the airport. Everything is also predictable as you can choose a prepaid plan and top it up as you go.
Replacing SIM cards on newer phone models
There’s been a noticeable shift across the latest phone generations, led by Apple. In 2018, the company introduced eSIMs with the iPhone XS and higher. In 2022, it completely dropped physical SIM cards for the US market while maintaining them for other markets. Now, in iPhone 17 Air, Apple has released an iPhone version that doesn’t have a physical SIM card in any market.
This shift towards eSIMs simplifies how modern devices are built and used. Manufacturers can now have cleaner layouts and stronger water and dust resistance while also reducing the points of failure. Users also don’t have to hunt for SIM kits, and they can easily transfer their SIM details when switching phones.
China was the only market that hadn’t embraced eSIMs due to concerns over security, but the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology finally approved nationwide eSIM trials in October 2025.
Making it easier to switch networks
Switching networks has been something many people have avoided unless they absolutely have to. Not because they didn’t want better prices or stronger coverage, but because the process has always felt slow and inconvenient. You need to visit a store, remove and replace your lines, and probably wait for activation.
eSIMs soften the entire process as you can handle everything right on your phone. If you get a better offer or find yourself in an area where one network is better than another, you can easily add a new plan alongside your existing one. You can also keep up to eight or more profiles on your phone, switching between them whenever you want to.
Paving the way for a more connected ecosystem
One of the clearest signs that eSIMs are more than just a convenience feature is that they are now a key part of a larger, interconnected landscape. Although phones were the starting point, the technology is now used on more than 50 consumer devices, according to Counterpoint. It’s even led to the development of other, more advanced technologies like iSIM and SoftSIM.
The impact of this adoption is that devices like wearables, tablets, laptops, and cars can have their own connection. This improves user experience as smart devices are now independent, and it also makes it possible to create more capable applications and introduces new functionalities.