In a major move, Qualcomm has demonstrated a working smartphone that comes with support for next-gen integrated SIM (iSIM) technology. This technology has been developed by Qualcomm in partnership with Vodafone and Thales.
As per the company, this new technology brings with it the functionality offered by a physical SIM card to the main processor, allowing for crucial design changes in chips and “greater system integration, higher performance, and increased memory capacity.” Crucially, iSIM functionality will also free up space on the motherboard, as these don't require a separate chip like eSIM.
"iSIM technology is a significant evolution on existing eSIM solutions and delivers wholesale benefits to both consumers and telecommunications operators, further paving the way for mobile services to be integrated into devices beyond the mobile phone, taking the mobile experience to laptops, tablets virtual reality platforms, IoT devices, wearables, and more. The iSIM is integrated into the application processor of the device bringing multiple benefits"
Proof of concept (POC) demonstration for the technology took place in Europe. The POC illustrated the technology’s commercial readiness and efficiency working on existing infrastructure, leveraging Vodafone’s network capabilities. In the demonstration, the fully operational proof of concept device used on Vodafone’s network was based on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G powered by a Snapdragon 888 5G Mobile Platform, which features a built-in Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit running the Thales iSIM operating system for the purpose of this demonstration. This proof of concept took place in Samsung’s R&D labs using Vodafone’s advanced remote management platform.
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