How the New Dual SIM System Works on the iPhone XS and XS Max?

• For the first time ever, Apple's iPhone will be Dual SIM compatible.
• The company doesn't use a traditional Dual SIM method but instead relies on an eSIM system. 
• As such, this system can be complicated to understand and brings numerous limitations. 

Dual SIM smartphones are nothing new and they are used all around the world. However, this is the first time that Apple has produced iPhones that support Dual SIM functionality. However, you will be surprised to know that the Cupertino-based tech giant has decided to go another way and implement this functionality a bit differently than other smartphone manufacturers.

In general, Dual SIM smartphones comes with two physical SIM slots. You place two cards into these slots, return them into a smartphone, and you can easily switch between them. However, this isn’t the case here. Apple’s newly released iPhone XS and XS Max have only one available SIM slot. The other one is an eSIM. This is an embedded SIM card, and since this is a fairly new standard, not every carrier supports it. The biggest advantage of this standard is that eSIMs are rewritable, which means that you can easily change operations without affecting your phone. Now, let’s return to explaining how this affects iOS users.

At the moment, only 14 networks across 10 countries support this standard, and you can take a look at Apple’s support page for more information. So, even if there’s a carrier in your country that supports this system, your iPhone must be unlocked (and we all know how expensive the iPhone XS can be). On top of all of this, if a CDMA-based carrier (like Verizon or Sprint) provides your first SIM, your second SIM can’t support CDMA. As you see, this isn’t a straightforward system.

It’s also interesting to note that there’s a special version of the iPhone XS made for China, Hong Kong, and Macau. In those countries, Apple provides a special SKU that comes with a proper (traditional) Dual SIM setup. These two cards basically sit on top of each other in the slot.

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