- A leak suggests the Pixel 10 could be eSIM only
- The change may only apply to the US
- It's something Apple has done since 2022
We're now well used to Google Pixel 10 leaks – the launch of these smartphones is set for Wednesday, August 20 – but the latest one to emerge is a little out of the ordinary, and suggests these handsets could come without physical SIM trays and rely on eSIMs.
The rumor comes from the usually reliable Evan Blass, though it seems he has picked it up from another source. Apparently the Pixel 10 Pro Fold will be the only phone in the range that you can slot a physical SIM card into.
That would mean the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL would be the first Google phones that exclusively rely on eSIMs. However, Blass does add that this information may only apply to the models being sold in the US.
As pointed out by 9to5Google, we have seen SIM trays on some of the leaked Pixel 10 images, but a lot of the renders that have appeared so far don't show the bottom of the devices, which is where the SIM slot is on the Pixel 9 handsets.
The future is eSIM
📲Tipster reports that the P10, P10P, and P10PXL will all ditch the physical SIM tray in favor of two active eSIM slots; only the P10PF will support hardware SIMs.August 8, 2025
While it would be a surprise if the Pixel 10 range turned out to be eSIM only, it wouldn't have come right out of the blue: you might remember there were rumors that Google would do this for some of the Pixel 8 models back in 2023.
What's more, it's something Apple has done in the US since the iPhone 14 launched in September 2022. It's a switch that Apple has managed without too much disruption, and it may be that Google is ready to follow suit.
eSIM technology has certainly got a lot simpler and more reliable in recent years, and in many ways is more convenient than using physical SIMs. It also means more space is freed up inside the chassis of the phone for other components.
We only have a week and a half to wait for the official unveiling and to see what Google will do – and we will of course bring you the news as it's announced. Based on rumors, these handsets might not be too much of an upgrade,
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