Does the Apple iPhone 16 have eSIM and dual-SIM capabilities?

Are you looking to get one of the new iPhone 16 devices? You’ll want to make sure you can connect it to your network, and we know eSIM and dual-SIM support have gotten very confusing in the past few years — especially for Apple users! You may be wondering how the new iPhones handle this whole situation. Does the Apple iPhone 16 have eSIM and dual-SIM capabilities? Let’s tell you all there is to know regarding this topic!

What changes between markets is the availability of physical SIM card support. The US versions of all these iPhone 16 models will have no physical SIM card support at all. The SIM card slots are missing, altogether.

There are different versions of the iPhone 16 series, though. The international models will come with a physical SIM card slot and eSIM. The only model that does not support eSIM is the Chinese version, but it will come with two physical SIM card slots, which many of you might prefer.

If you want a more straightforward look at each model and its SIM/eSIM configuration, here’s this chart:

Does the iPhone 16 have dual-SIM support?

Yes, the iPhone 16 series handsets support dual-SIM functionality, regardless of which iteration you get.

The US versions of the iPhone 16 devices can run two eSIM profiles at a time. The international model can run a single physical SIM card, along with an eSIM profile. Alternatively, you can use two eSIM profiles, just like with the US model.

The Chinese versions of the iPhone 16 allow for two physical SIM cards to run simultaneously. No eSIM support here.

What happened to the iPhone 16 physical SIM card slot?

Apple stopped adding physical SIM card slots to devices in the US with the release of the iPhone 14 series. However, the manufacturer kept physical Nano-SIM card slots in international iPhone models.

Apple continued this tradition with the iPhone 15 and 16 devices, so there seems to be no turning back, at least here in the US. In the US, all new iPhones lack the physical SIM card support and rely solely on eSIM technology.

To learn more about eSIM technology, check out our dedicated What is an eSIM post at the link. If you want more alternatives, we also have a list of the best dual-SIM smartphones.

Will the lack of a physical SIM affect you?

Luckily for most of you worldwide, only US residents are affected by the whole eSIM-only pandemonium. The rest of you will have physical SIM card slots.

That said, we can also assume many of you have already switched to eSIM. And even if you haven’t, we don’t see most users having issues, save for a possibly wonky activation process. Otherwise, users will enjoy their phones just as they would with an actual SIM card. This is because the majority of users aren’t really swapping phones and replacing SIM cards all the time.

There is one group of people that may suffer, though. Travelers often use SIM cards from other countries to avoid roaming charges or stay connected where they otherwise wouldn’t. And while you may think simply getting an eSIM profile from that country is a solution, many countries still haven’t entirely caught up with eSIM technology.

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