The SIM card continues to evolve. After the eSIM, this SIM card directly integrated into the terminal, it is the turn of the iSIM to emerge. This time it is a question of soldering it to the main processor, which would avoid maintaining a separate chip as in the case of the eSIM and would make it possible to eliminate the space which was devoted to it.
A first proof of concept
Manufacturers have been talking about it for several years now. ARM was betting on it as early as 2018. The technology, standardized by the GSMA, did not emerge quickly. Qualcomm announced that its Snapdragon 888 5G mobile platform supports iSIM last August. And it has just carried out with the British operator Vodafone and the specialist in SIM cards Thales a demonstration of feasibility in Europe.
It was carried out with a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G device and therefore the Snapdragon 888 5G platform, but also the Thales operating system iSIM in Samsung’s European R&D labs on Vodafone’s network.
The expected benefits are obviously space saving and better system integration. Qualcomm also claims that it would improve the design, performance and memory capacities of the terminal. Finally, there is the promise, thanks to the iSIM, to connect a greater number of devices to the mobile network such as connected objects and wearables.
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At the IT level, operators will continue to supply the card remotely using the infrastructure already in place for the eSIM. No smartphone manufacturer has yet announced iSIM compatible devices.