eSIMs feel like a solution waiting for a problem. Consumers are happy with physical SIMs, you obtain one, you put it in your phone then you forget about it until you swap your phone.
I'm sure eSIMs are a good idea if your aim is to gain even more control over our personal devices.
It sounds like you’re talking about the benefits of having both? The new iPhones have only eSIM which is currently a hurdle, especially for the ”tourist SIMs”. OTOH, I’m sure Telcos will shape up their support and iron out the major bugs rather quickly precisely because of this.
Fwiw, I can't remember the last time I bought a physical sim at an airport. Airalo lets me buy an eSim at the departing airport, which means I've got cell data from the instant I arrive. They're not the only company offering this, and I'm sure I could min max and find a more cost optimized service, but it's done me well enough. Depending on the amount of international travel you do, and to where, however, US travellers may have a better time with a carrier like T-Mobile which include international data to a number of countries.
eSIMs are nice in that you can install an app and it can activity service immediately. You don't have to go to a store or wait for a physical SIM to be mailed to you.
Also nice for people who frequent different countries, easier to switch by tapping a button in the phone than having to replace the physical SIM card each time. And no more forgetting the right SIM or not having a tiny thing to get the SIM card out in the first place (or having to borrow someone's earring).
> Consumers are happy with physical SIMs, you obtain one, you put it in your phone then you forget about it until you swap your phone.
As a consumer I was much happier with esims: I swapped provider, got the esim in the mail essentially instantly, put it in my phone, and forgot about it util I swapped phone... at which point esim transfer was part of the migration so I essentially didn't have to think about it either.
For me, eSIM was the only solution to a very real problem: being able to use virtual carriers without mailing a physical SIM. I can pay anonymously for a regional SIM from my MVNO at an affordable price, without giving a local carrier a copy of my passport to retain indefinitely. Unfortunately, they still only resell incumbent bandwidth--but that's the reality of spectrum licensing.
I'm sure eSIMs are a good idea if your aim is to gain even more control over our personal devices.