Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
ZDNET's key takeaways
eSIM management became an initial, frustrating, time-consuming challenge.
T-Mobile now offers a surprisingly seamless eSIM transfer within its app.
iOS Quick Transfer also works well for moving eSIMs between devices.
As a mobile reviewer, I spend a lot of time on phones, but I also spend comparatively little time on each individual phone I review. The constant cycle of swapping from handset to handset as they launch throughout the year has made one aspect of my life a delight -- the SIM card. Not to be mistaken with eSIM.
Also: eSIM vs. SIM: What's the difference?
It's no big deal to pop the SIM card out of one phone and move it over to another as my assignments (or my flights of fancy) dictate. But all that started to change when Apple moved to an eSIM-only model in the United States two years ago. The first year, I got the iPhone 14 in for review and had to move my main T-Mobile SIM over to it, and so, as a tech reviewer, I decided I wanted to stay on eSIMs for as long as I could.
I lasted about four months.
... continue reading