For the most part when you sign with a carrier, you will be given a SIM card to insert into your phone. Basically this allows you to use your phone on the carrier’s network. However it seems that according to a report from the Financial Times (subscription required; via Cult of Android), future Apple and Samsung devices could bid goodbye to SIM cards.The report claims that both companies are in talks with GSMA to discuss the possibility of using electronic SIM cards in their phones instead. What this means is that there won’t be a physical SIM anymore, but rather a system in which customers can swap between carriers easily without needing to swap SIM cards.
If this sounds familiar, it is because in 2014, Apple introduced an iPad with the Apple SIM which is basically a similar concept. Previously we heard that the Apple SIM might not be making it to the iPhone anytime soon, although a rumor from earlier this year suggested that the iPhone 6s might be the first iPhone to sport that particular feature.
The idea of creating such a system would allow handset makers to free up more space in their devices which could be used to create new features and functionality. However if you’re expecting this to be soon, think again. According to GSMA chief executive Anne Bouverot, “With the majority of operators on board, the plan is to finalise the technical architecture that will be used in the development of an end-to-end remote SIM solution for consumer devices, with delivery anticipated by 2016.”