The iPhone 16 smartphone with support for 5G mmWave networks and without a SIM card slot will be available only in the United States. Since the release of the iPhone 14, Apple has been promoting eSIM-only versions of smartphones only in the United States, without trying to expand sales to more countries, noted the resource 9to5Mac.
Image Source: Apple
Similarly, the company eliminated SIM card slots in the cellular-enabled iPad Pro and iPad Air tablets shipped to users in the United States, which were introduced this spring.
Apple’s website lists iPhone 16 models intended for use in the US only, including iPhone 16 A3081, iPhone 16 Plus A3082, iPhone 16 Pro A3083, iPhone 16 Pro Max A3084.
As Apple announced in 2022, using an eSIM instead of a physical SIM card has a number of benefits, including increased security since the SIM card cannot be removed from the phone if it is stolen. However, the implementation of eSIM in the world is quite slow, and many mobile operators still do not support this technology.
The same can be said for 5G mmWave technology, first introduced in the iPhone 12. This technology provides high wireless speeds and ultra-low cellular latency, but the distances over which the signal can be transmitted are much shorter than 5G sub-6 GHz, and it is usually not available indoors. Even tree foliage and glass can interfere with signal propagation.