Thanks to eSIM, you no longer need to insert a SIM card into your mobile device. Soon the standard will evolve to iSIM when it comes down to Qualcomm.

At Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm and Thales confirm the successful certification of the world’s first ready-to-use integrated SIM, dubbed “iSIM”. The process today follows the same eSIM digital SIM, but instead of a separate chip, an iSIM sits directly in the smartphone’s main chip.

Neither company has revealed which devices will run with the Scoop, but Qualcomm says the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is compatible with the technology.

Important news for telecom providers is that iSIM uses the same provisioning standard to activate SIM cards remotely. An update of the current systems is not necessary to support iSIM-based devices.

The chance seems slim to us that the integration of iSIM into the main chip will suddenly make smartphones cheaper. However, we believe that manufacturers may now adopt iSIM more quickly now that the additional chip is no longer needed.

Debuting the technology in the most expensive chip from Qualcomm’s stable for the first time, we won’t reap the benefits this year. However, there is a chance that the technology will find its way to more budget-friendly chips in the coming years, so eventually even low-end devices will support eSIM.