In a roundabout way, it appears that Apple is looking to get rid of the SIM card altogether. Apple has proposed a very small version of new SIM cards in hopes of them taking up less space in the iPhone and iPad. Even though Apple has proposed this, it could be a couple of years before it’s approved, but then we will see 2-3 more versions of Apple products. As more and more technology is going into smartphones and tablets, space is a premium inside the unit and the smaller SIM card means more space of other things.
The proposal has gone to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute for approval, which is a step that must be taken if the SIM card is to be approved by the GSM standard. Right now, Apple iPad and iPhone 4 have smaller versions of SIM cards, one that has less plastic parts than traditional SIMs, but Apple hopes to make them even smaller in the future. The reason for the SIM card standard is so that customers can take their phone information with them if they should change phone networks. Secure information about the user is also stored on this card and can identify users.
SIM cards are controlled 100 percent by the network and they can make changes to the card as well as authenticate customers on the network. SIM cards are a part of what makes cell phone networks a secure environment. Apple has never really seen eye to eye with this and considers an Apple customer, their customer and not one under control of another company. Apple is trying to show they can comply with certain standards in the mobile industry, but they also want to see new cards that take up less space.
One of the issues is that older phones won’t be able to accept a smaller, new SIM card, which causes compatibility issues. A network could offer up a case for smaller SIM cards that would essentially make any SIM card the right size for specific phones, even older ones. Apple is not the only company in the works for smaller SIM cards. There is a bit of push for the NFC (near field communication) technology in smartphones and networks are looking to put this information on SIM cards, making it more portable for the user. Right now, NFC technology is integrated in the Smartphone, but if a user changes networks, the information cannot go with them.
