First of all, eSIM stands for Embedded SIM or Electronic SIM. It is an industry-standard digital SIM that allows you to activate the cellular network on your smartphone without having a physical SIM card inside the phone. This new technology has been in the system for a while now. It has been active is some phones as old as two to three years.
Even though it has been in the system for a while, most people didn’t really pay much attention to it because they already had physical SIM cards which their smartphones very well supported. Thanks to Apple and iPhone 14 series, the world is now showing more interest in eSIM now.
Apple Took A Bold Step Towards eSIM Support
When Apple released the iPhone 14 series, one of the main talking points of the phones was about eSIM. Apple announced that all iPhone 14 models for the US market will not support physical sim cards. In fact, none of the US models came with a physical SIM slot. This left users with no other alternative than to use the eSIM service. 
Since Apple’s bold step towards the using of eSIM, all users around the globe started paying extra attention to the eSIM. Most service providers who didn’t also have eSIM support now have it. This is because most users are shifting to the new future of cellular networks and no service provider wants to lag behind.
In recent days, a lot of users have started asking many questions about this virtual SIM card. Many are asking about how to activate it, while others are trying to find out whether their smartphones have support for the eSIM. Setting up the eSIM is very simple. You can easily do it inside the cellular settings of your smartphone. When you are also setting up a new smartphone, there will be a stage where you can setup your eSIM.
For those who want to know whether their smartphones support it or which phones support eSIM, this article is for you. In this article, we will list all phones that support eSIM till the date of writing this article (22 December 2022). So, I will list the new smartphones as well as old phones.
However, the main focus will be on 5 different smartphone brands. We will focus on iPhones, Huawei Smartphones, Samsung Smartphones, Google Pixel smartphones and Oppo smartphones. Sorry if your brand is not on this list. Under these five brands, we will list all the phones that support the Electronic SIM. So, let’s set the ball rolling.
iPhones That Support eSIM 
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone SE 2 (2020)
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone SE 3 (2022)
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
NOTE
The iPhone 13 and 14 models all support dual eSIMs. This means you can activate two cellular networks at the same time.
Some iPhones from Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao do not support eSIM. The following iPhones are the only iPhones from these regions that support the virtual SIM. iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone SE 2020 and iPhone XS are the only iPhones with eSIM support from these regions.
All iPhone 14 series in the USA do not come with physical SIM slot. So they only support the Electronic SIM.
iPads That Support eSIM
With the iPads, only the 4G models have embedded SIM in them.
- iPad Pro 11″ (model A2068, from 2020)
- iPad Pro 12.9″ (model A2069, from 2020)
- iPad Air (model A2123, from 2019)
- iPad (model A2198, from 2019)
- iPad Mini (model A2124, from 2019)
Samsung Smartphones That Support eSIM 
- Samsung Galaxy S20
- Samsung Galaxy S20+
- Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy S21
- Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S21+ Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy S22
- Samsung Galaxy S22+
- Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Fold
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4
These are the only Samsung smartphones that support the electronic SIM. However, there are certain Samsung smartphones that are amongst this list but still lack support for the electronic SIM. The is due to the regions these phones come from. The Samsung phones in the following list do not support eSIM.
- Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 4G/5G
- Samsung S20/S21 (US versions)
- Galaxy Z Flip 5G (US versions)
- Samsung Note 20 Ultra (Versions from the US and Hong Kong)
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 (Versions from the US and Hong Kong)
Google Pixel Smartphones With eSIM support 
- Google Pixel 2
- Google Pixel 2 XL
- Google Pixel 3 (Phones bought in Australia, Taiwan or Japan are not included. Apart from Spring and Google Fi, Pixel phones that were bought with US and Canada carriers are not supported)
- Google Pixel 3 XL
- Google Pixel 3a (excluding phones bought in Japan or with Verizon service)
- Google Pixel 3a XL
- Google Pixel 4
- Google Pixel 4a
- Google Pixel 4 XL
- Google Pixel 5
- Google Pixel 5a
- Google Pixel 6
- Google pixel 6a
- Google Pixel 6 Pro
- Google Pixel 7
- Google Pixel 7 Pro
NOTE
All Google Pixel 3 smartphones bought from Australia, Taiwan and Japan do not support eSIM.
Also, Google Pixel 3a from Southeast Asia regions are not included.
Huawei Smartphones That Support eSIM 
Huawei surprisingly joined the electronic SIM party quite late. The first Huawei smartphones to support the embedded SIM are the Huawei P40 and the P40 Pro. Check out the list below.
- Huawei P40
- Huawei P40 Pro
- Huawei Mate 40 Pro
Interestingly, only three Huawei devices supports the eSIM for now. Even the higher end models such as the Huawei P40+ and the P50 Pro do not support the service.
Oppo Smartphones That Support eSIM 
- Oppo Find X3 Pro
- Oppo Reno 5A
- Oppo Find X5
- Oppo Find X5 Pro
As you can see, the Oppo Find X5 lite is not in the list. This means it does not support Electronic SIM.
Among these five manufacturers, these are all their available smartphones that currently come with embedded SIM. In any case, you may have to make sure your smartphone is fully unlocked in order to use the Electronic SIM. However, if your device is locked to a particular carrier, you can activate eSIM on that same carrier.
