Steve Jobs wanted original iPhone have no SIM card slot – Times of India

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wanted the original iPhone to lack a SIM card tray as he wanted it to be a seamless device. In a recent interview at a Computer History Museum special event, former iPod VP Tony Fadell who is also known as “father of the iPod,” revealed that Jobs was against the idea of the iPhone having a SIM card slot. Jobs wanted to ditch the card slot because of his device preferences.
“We don’t want another hole in it” Jobs told the engineers and designers that were working on the iPhone as per Fadell. He further revealed that Jobs wanted the smartphone to have a CDMA network instead of GSM to ditch the card slot. For those who do not know, devices that support CDMA do not need a SIM card as they are connected to the service provider’s network directly.
Fadell being the one of the most influential members of the original iPod and iPhone design teams, convinced Apple co-founder that using CDMA instead of GSM won’t work due to small adaptation. Fadell revealed that he used market data to prove his point.
If recent rumours are to be believed then we may see the first iPhone without a SIM card slot next year. Apple is reportedly planning to phase out the SIM card tray from its smartphones starting from the Apple iPhone 15 series. As per numerous reports, the tech giant has advised major carriers to prepare for the launch of eSIM-only iPhones.
Apple first introduced support for eSIM technology with the launch of dual-SIM iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and affordable iPhone XR. Currently, every iPhone model launched in 2018 or after (excluding iPhone SE) comes with support for one physical SIM and one eSIM.
For those who are unaware, an eSIM is the Subscriber Identity/Identification Module (SIM) that is embedded in smart communication devices such as smartphones, smartwatches and others. Users can access the prepaid/postpaid subscriptions services on their device with the eSIM without any physical SIM card.