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https://gizmodo.com/google-s-pixel-8-sim-slot-esim-only-iphone-1850759671
What happened to daring to be different? What happened to having options? What happened to creativity?
Maybe I'm out of the loop but are eSIMs insecure or something? What's the problem? I started using eSIMs while traveling overseas and it been a game changer. So easy... No more swapping. No more trying to find a Sim provider at the airport etc.
AFAIK esim is not available everywhere and it's also less private since you need to register an account to activate rather than pay cash and pop in the card.
In the eu you have to register your regular sim card with your full personal information. So for us nothing would change.
If you buy this pixel from Verizon, and use it as trade in for, say, samsung phone via their website, how are you supposed to get Sim service switched? You don't have Verizons phone (because you sent it to them), and your new phone doesn't have service (because they sell you a blank unlocked phone), nor is it connected to Verizons towers. You're going to be....expected to go to verizon? Use someone else's phone?
Like using someone else's car at the dmv for driving tests, it's horribly reliant on external factors and is fuckin' duuuuumb
You take the phone you get to Verizon before you send your trade out. You say, give me a SIM for a phone that doesn't support it or switch my number to this phone via an eSIM.
Most companies send you the new phone first and you have time to send the trade-in after the fact for a set amount of days. If you do this from Verizon to Verizon as another example the new phone should activate with an eSIM out of the box and move your number. If not, Google is working on a tool to fix that:https://www.droid-life.com/2023/08/22/first-look-at-androids-native-esim-transfer-tool/
This is not any offense to you as your questions are relevant and reasonable, but this post has proved my point that Lemmy users know jack shit about security and why this is a good change. If you want learn there is a good podcast that elaborates on the issue with current physical SIM standards: https://darknetdiaries.com/transcript/118/
Oh, look more Lemmy users not understanding security, again. All because they hate big Apple and change because Apple did something is bad.
I am convinced Lemmy users are more prone to let their bias get in the way of actually understanding the benefits of this change and the reason this is going away.
If you want to educate yourself.
https://darknetdiaries.com/transcript/118/
If you want a summary because you don't want to listen to a podcast or read the transcript of a podcast. There is a lot of theft occurring at the SIM card level in phones. This change is a bigger benefit than it is a negative. Is it annoying? Sure? Does it change how the phone functions? No.
Most phones can't dual SIM, and phones that do typically have issues. I am convinced this will quite literally not affect any of you, and if anything it protects the average consumer.
Pixel and iPhone have been doing eSIM for a while and I personally use a Google Fi number and First Net number. If you are wondering how the number transfer process will work then here is another article about how that is going to be handled: https://www.droid-life.com/2023/08/22/first-look-at-androids-native-esim-transfer-tool/
This means no one can just take your SIM card. They need to fully get into your phone. If you are worried about number transfer from telecom company to telecom company then you should know that is also already being handled and both Verizon and AT&T have implemented this change to their systems. You just transfer the number like normal and the systems generate an eSIM for you.
This is a win for security of your phone, you, and for your number.
It seems like the people that left Reddit for lemmy are mostly super biased in some way and highly argumentative. No one here is willing to have a discussion and recognize valid points from the other person, even if your opinion differs.
When it comes to this change I have personally not seen a valid point. The argument is being compared to the loss of battery swapping. These are not comparable in anyway is the issue. If you want to argue that you should be able to swap batteries in phones then I agree you should be able to.
However, eSIM versus physical SIM is an actual security advantage and a good change and the methods we will use to transfer them is all that will be different. The podcast transcript above is a good source for understanding why this is fundamentally different. Losing the ability to swap a battery sucks. However, there will be ways to swap a SIM while still keeping the end user safe and honestly even safer and it doesn't change how a SIM functions for your use of the phone. You could still swap a battery and an eSIM would literally not make a difference. The point is that you are not losing anything with no physical SIM your freedom to what you want with your phone hasn't changed in the same way that you can't replace your own battery because and eSIM can't be stolen or lost the same way a physical SIM.
I think Lemmy users are absolutely far more biased than they think and I have leaned in the few months I have been here that often times they just stick their way of thinking to something without even asking why this kind of change could be a good thing.
I have also found that Lemmy users don't know shit about security and privacy like they think they do. Lemmy as an app being the biggest example.
