eSIM as a technology has been around for a decade now. However, global eSIM adoption was around 3% last year and will only cross 5% this year.
Despite these figures, analysts, eSIM-providing startups, and investors are bullish about eSIM’s upward trajectory, largely thanks to travel.
Device compatibility
One of the key factors for that is phone makers launching devices with eSIM features.
The first batch of smartphones with eSIM arrived in 2017 and 2018, with the Pixel 2 and the iPhone XR among the most notable phones. In 2022, Apple ditched the physical SIM slot to go eSIM-only for the U.S. market, and Google followed suit with the Pixel 10 this year.
Image Credits: GSMA
This year, Apple upped the ante by releasing the eSIM-only iPhone Air and offering an eSIM-only model of the iPhone 17 series in more than 11 countries as an option. One key advantage of these eSIM-only phones is that they offer slightly larger battery life than the models with a physical SIM slot.
Analytics firm Counterpoint said that in 2024, the penetration of smartphones with eSIM was just 23%. The U.S. is the strongest market for eSIM, with 41% of devices launched in 2024 having eSIM capabilities.
Until recently, eSIM has been a feature of top-end devices, but that is changing slowly. GSMA said that just in the first half of 2025, brands have launched than 60 eSIM-enabled smartphones.
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China can be a major factor in eSIM’s adoption. This October, after the launch of Apple’s eSIM-only phone and a few hiccups, China’s telecom providers began offering eSIM support. Pablo Iacopino, an analyst at GSMA, said local manufacturers like Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo will also likely launch more eSIM-native or supported devices.
Image Credits: GSMA
These manufacturers have a big share in economically sensitive markets in Asia and Africa. They can gradually include eSIM support across price ranges to support the domestic demand.
“Chinese brands, when they see that the Chinese MNOs have launched eSIM services for the domestic Chinese market, they will probably start introducing eSIM across a wider range of smartphones, including, medium and low-end market,” Iacopino said. “But I don’t think they will go eSIM only immediately. They will start with supporting both physical and eSIM, before shifting to eSIM-only models.”
Currently, even within devices with eSIM support, few people are using the technology — but that’s changing. Steffen Sorrell, head of research at Kaleido Intelligence, a telecom analyst firm, said that it observed a 30% activation rate in devices with eSIM capabilities in 2024. The firm estimates that the rate will go up to 75% by 2030.
Travel is a big catalyst
eSIM is one of the most convenient ways to get connectivity while you are traveling. A GSMA survey said that 51% of people using eSIM use it for travel. Plus, it is a more secure solution, given that often eSIM hardware is bound with secure hardware elements, making it difficult to tamper with.
These elements have been positive for eSIM provider startups, AirAlo, Holafly, eSIM.me, Nomad, and Truely. Even the Lithuania-based security provider Nord launched an eSIM service called Saily. Most of these companies have seen growth in their customer base, and that’s largely thanks to travel.
GSMA said that travel is currently proving …