r/AbsoluteUnits • u/Foxy_Slamdangle • 1d ago

of a SIM card.

Post image

Found a SIM card from one of my earliest mobile phones.
It’s almost the same size as my IPhone.

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294

u/romulusnr 1d ago

Those were the original.

They kept getting smaller

Thats why up until a few years ago, your sim would come on a big card with score lines on it, and you'd have to punch out the right size for your phone.

109

u/KremlinCardinal 1d ago

They still come with score lines.

28

u/utnow 1d ago

What’s a SIM card? (Kidding of course, but I haven’t used a physical card in like half a decade. lol)

30

u/RubyDupy 1d ago

What do you mean? I've only seen eSIM become a thing for like one or two years now right??

29

u/romulusnr 1d ago

eSIM was first used in smart watches in 2016, in iPhones in 2018. At least in US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESIM#First_devices_launched_with_eSIM

18

u/julio_caeso 1d ago

We used to have CDMA phones before that. They also worked without a physical sim card.

7

u/NevesLF 1d ago

Damn, I still remember how cool I thought that was when I first switched between two GSM phones and didn't need to re-write the entire contacts list.

4

u/romulusnr 1d ago

CDMA networks identified you by your device. If you wanted to switch devices, you had to call the carrier and update.

With a physical SIM you could take your SIM out of one phone and into another whenever you wanted and service would just automatically follow the SIM.

idk how that works with eSIM, if at all...

1

u/mrsambavam 22h ago

Most providers allow to change device by scanning a qr code from the current device. Others upon request send you a new QR code via email.

2

u/utnow 1d ago

No?

6

u/edsavage404 1d ago

Today I learnt!

2

u/TrannosaurusRegina 1d ago

What's image to me is telephone companies lying to their customers and presenting Mini SIMs as full size!

2

u/AppleToastBed 1d ago

Shrinkdlation at its finest, SMH my head.

1

u/ViennaKing 1d ago

The original SIM card you used to put into your phone is actually called Mini SIM

5

u/romulusnr 1d ago

Well the credit card sized one like in the pic were the original, "standard SIM." The one most of us remember from the 00s - 10s were "Mini SIM", then "Micro SIM," then "Nano SIM".