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It seems like more and more physical media's getting overtaken by digital substitutes,

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affecting everything from game downloads to event tickets,

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leaving some folks nostalgic for the days when you could enjoy the smell of a freshly unwrapped CD.

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Pfft. Did that ever smell good?

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And yet another piece of tech that could be going that way is the humble SIM card.

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You probably know what they are, but in case you don't, they're those little chips that go into your phone

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to allow you to connect to a cellular network. Their function is to identify who you are

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to your mobile provider so that they know you're not some outsider trying to randomly use

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their network for free. You can learn more about SIM cards right up here,

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but once you're done, come on back because this episode is all about their virtual successor,

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the eSIM. A lot of phone manufacturers are interested

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in moving to the eSIM, and in fact, a number of flagship devices already have them,

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including newer iPhones, Samsung Galaxy devices, and Google's Pixel lineup.

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But why are we bothering to change? The biggest reason is flexibility.

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With traditional SIM cards, getting a new phone plan meant that you need to physically go

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and pick up a card somewhere and then fiddle with that stupid little tray on your phone,

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and God help you if you lose that pokey SIM removal tool.

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eSIMs instead can be delivered over the air by dialing a designated phone number from your provider,

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scanning a QR code, or using an app, making things a lot easier for frequent travelers

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who might need to get on a different network when they're traveling internationally.

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It also looks like more phones will feature both eSIM and traditional SIM support,

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and many eSIM devices will support storing more than one SIM code at a time.

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This means it'll be a lot easier to simply add a travel SIM to your plan when you're abroad.

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Instead of having to deal with finicky roaming when you land, you can just buy an eSIM before your trip

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and ensure you're connected at all times. I mean, other than while you're in the air.

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You can also easily use your business and personal phone plans on the same device.

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Your boss will like that, or even have completely separate voice and data plans

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if you find a better deal or faster speeds with another provider.

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That's pretty sweet. But eSIMs could end up having greater benefits

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than just making your phone a bit more convenient to use.

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Although physical SIM cards aren't all that big, the card slots in our devices are still bulky enough

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to take up valuable space, a big problem in small gadgets.

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eSIMs, which obviously don't require that extra slot,

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could increase the adoption of smaller devices like internet of things gadgets or smartwatches

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that don't have to rely on a phone to connect to a cell network.

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And importantly, eSIM technology has the blessing

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of the GSMA, meaning major cell carriers are backing it.

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So it really looks like it's gonna be a question of when it becomes widespread as opposed to if.

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However, don't be surprised if your next phone doesn't support it, especially if you're not buying

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a top-end device. Although the benefits of eSIM are coming,

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people trying to use it currently have remarked that in many cases you still have to go into a store

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to buy an eSIM QR code. And moving an eSIM subscription to a different device

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can be, at least for the time being, more complicated

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than just swapping out a physical card. And speaking of physical cards,

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there is some concern that eSIM, because it can be pushed over the air,

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is more susceptible to social engineering type of tax

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than traditional SIMs are. Though there are some backstops already in place

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to help us keep that from happening. And there's a chance that eSIM could improve security

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by making it easier to track a stolen phone and harder to sell one since you can't just yank out a card.

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And of course, it takes time and money for the cell carriers to transition the current systems

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over to eSIM to make it easier to use. But hopefully it'll happen before too long

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as I'm pretty bad at losing small removable objects between my couch cushions.

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I have so many cushions. Cracks, there's so many cracks, cracks for days.

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So thanks for watching guys. If you liked this video, give it a thumbs up, give us a subscribe, and be sure to hit us up

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in the comments section with your suggestions for themes that we should cover in the future.