Steve Jobs Wished The First iPhone Had No Physical SIM Card Slot

Decades before eSIM technology came into existence, the charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era and the co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs wanted the first-gen iPhone without a SIM card.

Apple is rumoured to bring iPhone models without physical SIM card slots next year, Image: Getty

New Delhi: Decades before eSIM technology came into existence, the charismatic pioneer of the personal computer era and the co-founder of Apple Steve Jobs wanted the first-gen iPhone without a SIM card. While Apple is rumoured to bring upcoming iPhone models without physical SIM card slots in at least some regions and countries next year, Jobs wished the first iPhone did not have a SIM card slot, the media has reported.

According to a report by 9to5Mac, this was revealed by Tony Fadell, former VP of iPod who was recently interviewed by journalist Joanna Stern at a Computer History Museum special event. According to the former iPod VP, Steve Jobs was against the idea of having a SIM card slot in the iPhone due to his design preferences during the early development of the device.

In the words of the “father of the iPod,” Jobs told the engineers and designers working on the iPhone that “we don’t want another hole in it”, the 9to5Mac report added.

Jobs had used mobile network operator Verizon as an example to suggest that an iPhone device without a SIM card slot would be possible since the carrier was not known for GSM service, but its CDMA network. This is years before the smartphone market had met the technology that we now know as eSIM, thus, indicating that Jobs was indeed thinking ahead of the rest.

For those unaware, code-division multiple access is popularly known as CDMA is used mainly in the US. Carrier Verizon in the US uses CDMA technology and is the largest wireless carrier in the US.

Meanwhile, if rumours are to be believed, the first iPhone without a physical SIM card slot would be unveiled next year, which is the purported iPhone 15 series. The first iPhone to be introduced with support for eSIM technology was the iPhone XS, the iPhone XS Max and the iPhone xXR.