Vodafone UK prematurely published a blog post featuring photos of the first nanoSIM cards (above, right). What exactly are nanoSIM cards? Some background: SIM cards used to be the size of credit cards. Someone suggested they get smaller, so the miniSIM card was invented. You’ve probably played with miniSIM cards for most of your life. In fact, most people don’t even use that term, they just call them plain old SIM cards. Apple, back in 2010, launched devices (iPhone 4) that used an even smaller card called the micoSIM (above, left). Most high end smarpthones on the market today use this new size. Why? Because if the SIM card is smaller, then there’s more space inside the body of the phone for handset makers to put larger batteries or more components.
Enter the nanoSIM, which, as the name implies, is the next step down. Compared to a microSIM, a nanoSIM is roughly 40% smaller. Again, the only reason to shrink these things down is to enable handset makers to put more stuff inside their phones.
Is Apple making everyone’s life a living hell? Yes, but it’s temporary. Most folks don’t swap SIM cards that often. The ones that do … there will probably be adapters for them. And as for other handset makers, it should take them less than a year to catch up. Remember, Apple doesn’t control the nanoSIM standard; they actually helped create it.
Speaking about Apple, it’s now pretty much 100% confirmed that the next iPhone, due to be announced in a little less than 24 hours, will use this new SIM card size. Interestingly enough, Vodafone’s blog post says: “The first devices have now been announced – and Vodafone has now got 500,000 of the new 12.3 mm x 8.8 mm nano-SIMs in stock.”
Does that mean Apple is going to announce multiple phones tomorrow? We’ll soon find out.
[Via: The Verge]