Google took a bold step with Pixel 10, even though it is not yet clear. here’s why

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Key takeaways of zdnet

• Google Pixel 10 series in the US is losing the physical SIM card slot and only ESIM.
• Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the only exception, with the latch launch date in October.
• To accommodate networking changes, Google is providing enhanced SIM-SWAP support.

Google announced its latest smartphone lineup, Pixel 10 seriesAnd yes, on the surface, they look a lot like last year Pixel 9However, there is a very important change under the hood: steps towards using ESIM, dug a physical SIM card completely.

With last year’s Pixel 9 series, users had the option to have a traditional SIM card or ESIM. With Pixel 10, fully predetermining the sim tray is an unexpected step that may not be popular with all. Note that this change applies only to phone in America.

Too: Everything produced by Google 2025: Pixel 10 Pro, Fold, Watch 4, and more

So what is the difference between the two? Traditional SIM card – familiar with most smartphone users – a single carrier and physical, removable chips associated with the number. An eSIM (or embedded sim) is a built -in component part of the hardware of the phone.

The benefits of ESIM include different numbers or separate profiles associated with schemes -even separate carriers -on the same device, for example, allowing separate lines for personal or business.

The Pixel 10 series phone will support two ESIM “slots”, allowing for two different numbers. It is managed by scanning the QR code by the software of all phones or instead of extracting the chip from the device.

Also: Finally, Pixel 10 finished Android’s Magsef Jealousy with its new Pixelsnap feature

All the new Pixel 10 models declared will move only towards ESIM, only, except, except Pixel 10 Pro FoldWhich will continue to support both forms.

These are mostly new phones that have moved to the ESIM route, and some have been done by Apple as the iPhone 14 was released back in 2022. Removing the physical tray that a physical SIM card also frees the valuable real estate in the phone for other components, which is a continuous part of the march towards small and small devices.

Some other Androids support ESIM, including Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series, Galaxy Z Fold 4, and Z Flip 4, others. But as a whole, ESIM support in Android devices is an inconsistent patchwork based on various models and carriers.

Also: 5 new AI features on Pixel 10 that feel like magic

For example, old pixel phones support ESIM, but they are largely limited to Google Fi – the company’s own phone carrier service. Pixel 10, comparatively, is compatible with other carriers such as Verizon.

Google is now at the forefront of ESIM support on Android, as adopted on Pixel 10 The chain goes to show. The bottom line is that there are still a lot of compatibility problems to dismiss iron in Android ecosystem, leaving a lot of users traditional SIM cards.