Apple launched iOS 12.1 with dual SIM support for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. These latest smartphones from Apple does not feature two physical slots (except the models launched in China.) In the US, these three iPhone models come with a physical SIM slot and an eSIM.
The physical SIM slot can be used as people have been using since its conception. The eSIM, however, not only requires the mobile operating system to provide its support, but it also required the wireless carriers to push support form an eSIM. In case of iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, the wireless carrier in the United States were not ready to support the eSIM feature right of the gate. However, all the major US carriers including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint did say that they planned to push eSIM support by the end of this year.
It seems like Verizon is on track from pushing eSIM support. A new report from 9to5mac claims that an internal document that they obtained reveals that Verizon is working on releasing support for eSIM by “early December.” This means that Verizon Wireless will soon be offering activation of not only physical SIMs but also the eSIM technology.
The issue Verizon experienced was related to the network support. Apple’s new smartphones are not capable of supporting Verizon’s high-speed network connectivity when the device is in dual SIM mode. As a result, those Verizon users who tried to use dual SIM feature saw their network connectivity dropped to the 2G network. This is why Verizon stopped activating the eSIMs. AT&T, on the other hand, experienced issues with Visual Voicemail.
The publication did not provide any specific launch date. So, we will have to wait for an official announcement from Verizon in the near future.
Are you excited for dual SIM support coming to Verizon?