iSIM, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2’s “secret” weapon

iSIM is a new step, perhaps definitive, in development connection technology so that mobile devices can offer access to mobile broadband services such as the current 5G or the future 6G.

I’ve never understood why the industry still sticks to physical SIM cards when there are better methods to use. These cards Subscriber identification module They are mandatory for access to the most widespread GSM mobile networks and are provided by telecommunications operators when we conclude communications and internet service contracts with them. These cards are removable, can be removed and inserted into the mobile (they are removable) and are available in four sizes, from the largest original SIM to the rest of the available formats, mini, micro and nano, the smallest.

For many years they served their purpose, but today they are obsolete from any point of view and unfortunately they are still widely used despite the availability of more advanced formats such as eSIM, virtual SIM cards that allow us to connect to the Internet and/or make voice calls like SIM cards, but with much greater potential and relevant advantages, including greater simplicity in obtaining with dual SIM functionality, as it allows the use of multiple phone numbers and services from different operators, as well as faster and easier switching between them. Not to mention saving space, which is important in smartphone design.

iSIM, the definitive technology?

If the eSIM was already a significant advance, although its implementation was delayed longer than it should have been, in the coming years the iSIM will arrive, which a dedicated eSIM chip is not needed soldered on the motherboard, since the necessary technology is part of the same main SoC of the mobile device.

Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the most advanced Qualcomm SoC to power the high-end next-generation mobile phones, promises improvements in processing and graphics performance, energy efficiency, cameras, new features such as ray tracing and advances in artificial intelligence capabilities. But for what we are dealing with in this article, it has one more big advantage and that is that is the first design certified for iSIM.

At its MWC 2023 conference, Qualcomm highlighted its benefits for users, but especially for device manufacturers with “more opportunities to save space and reduce construction and supply chain costs while maintaining the same level of safety”.

Qualcomm worked with the French multinational Thales Group to make its solution fully compliant with the SIM remote provisioning standard set by the organization responsible for these standards, the GSMA. Therefore, mobile operators should be able to manage iSIM subscriptions in the same way that eSIM users currently manage.

This technology should increase the opportunity to “expand cellular capacity” in mobile devices and other connected devices, the GSMA explains. At least 300 million devices are expected to use iSIM by 2027. The advantages are relevant in all fields and together with eSIM in the definitive jubilee transition to physical cards, which have accompanied us for the past two decades, but are now obsolete.