Considering majority of the planet doesn't have access to esim. Google just cut off a huge chunk of its markets. I've been waiting on esims for years. They are slowly creeping out but they don't work on all networks and don't work on pay as you go plans.
Think you'd need esim to be much more established before you tried anything like this.
BT headphones had become pretty normal by the time they started removing the jack. You can also get an adapter to still use them. No slot for sim would be incredibly bold and lose them a tonne of money.
Google shouldn't remove physical SIM cards until the networks can figure them out. I don't understand why it's so hard for them to do so, though.
Setting my Pixel up with an eSim on T-Mobile was a huge pain in the ass even though it should have been stupid easy. T-Mobile has a QR code you can scan to automate the setup, but, by their choice, it only works on Samsungs and iPhones.
First step was that I had to call up their tech support and confirm my identity. No issues with the identity confirmation, that's the bare minimum they should require. But then I had to manually relay my IMEI, avoiding making any mistakes.
When they finished, the call disconnected and my service no longer worked. Why? Because they need to deactivate your current IMEI to get it to work. And eSim won't work with T-Mobile until you take out your old SIM and restart your phone.
Before losing service, they told me this part would be tricky. If they had made a single mistake, I would have lost service. The online reps couldn't fix this, only the phone reps could, but again, I would have no service so I couldn't call the phone reps. If it didn't work, I would need to go in store to get it fixed and hope they would call in for me.
I don't understand why the process is any harder than just logging into your carrier on your phone.
In the Netherlands I went from not being a customer to making a phone call at the carrier in 10 minutes, while being in a third country. It really isn't hard. And I have a Fairphone, so not even a mainstream brand.
Just one correction, I've found plenty of companies offering pay as you go eSims in Switzerland, so I'd imagine it can exist elsewhere too. Digital Republic is an example that I use. Not gonna lie, it's nice to have a fully functioning phone plan right as you land on the tarmac.
Oh excellent I stand corrected. All the sim plans I've seen in the UK France and North America all seemed to offer monthly plans but not pay as you go.
I know there are lots of online only holiday sims. They are fantastic. Was going to use them in Canada but didn't get a chance.
You can get a vodafone PAYG esim, they just don't tell you about it. Get the PAYG SIM, register for an online account, wait a day or two for their ancient backend systems to all update, change to an esim from the account page.
Idk, I think they're totally willing to manufacture a separate US model and an international model. And as time goes on, they'll phase out the international model. Just much more slowly.
And there are also those with dual SIMs for work or other purposes. With eSim one can have a personal account and use the physical SIM for work without the need for dual SIM slots. Removing the physical SIM means this is no longer possible.