Google Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro Could Ditch Physical SIM Card Slot And Ship With eSIM Only

Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones feature SIM card slots on the left side.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 22 August 2023 11:30 IST

Google Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro Could Ditch Physical SIM Card Slot And Ship With eSIM Only

Photo Credit: Google

Google Pixel 7 series was launched in October last year

Highlights

Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are expected to go official in October
An eSIM is a digital version of the physical SIM card
Apple launched the eSIM-only iPhone 14 series in the US last year

Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are expected to go official in October this year with a number of upgrades over their predecessors. Leaks so far have detailed hardware specifications of this year's Pixel 8 lineup. Now, a report has surfaced online that suggests that the upcoming Pixel 8 handsets will ditch the physical SIM card slots in favour of eSIM. Through an eSIM, Pixel 8 users can connect to their carrier without a physical SIM card in their phone. Apple iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models in the US were also launched without a physical SIM card slot.

Renders of the vanilla Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro were leaked earlier this year by tipster Steve Hemmerstoffer (@OnLeaks) in collaboration with SmartPrix. Citing these images, tipster Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) claims that the Pixel 8 series might debut as eSIM-only smartphones, at least in some regions. Rahman explains the renders published are missing SIM card slots on the left side and suggests that this is not an accidental omission.

Take this with a grain of salt, but...the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro might be eSIM only, at least in some regions.

Nobody seems to have noticed that the renders that @OnLeaks published are missing SIM card slots on the left side. The renders he previously published of the Pixel 6,… pic.twitter.com/jlsyqTD8tC
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) August 20, 2023

However, the SmartPrix report states that the Pixel 8 smartphones will have a SIM card tray on the left spine. OnLeaks told Rahman that anything his partners claim that isn't announced in his tweet doesn't come from him. This means that the speculation about the presence of the SIM slot on the phones' left spine could be SmartPrix's own interpretation of the renders.

Last year's Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel 7a smartphones feature SIM card slots on the left side.

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Further, Rahman states that a Pixel 8 Pro video leaked by Kamila (@Za_Raczke) shows a SIM card tray on the left edge of the smartphone. So, the upcoming handset might ship with physical SIM slots as usual in most regions. Since these details have not yet been confirmed by Google, it is recommended to consider it with a grain of salt.

An eSIM is a digital version of the physical SIM card. They are embedded inside and allow users to connect to their carrier without a physical SIM card in their phones. If the leak holds any weight, then the Pixel 8 series might ship as Google's first eSIM-only smartphone. Apple launched the eSIM-only iPhone 14 series in the US last year. However, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models are available with physical SIM card slots in several other regions.

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Google I/O 2023 saw the search giant repeatedly tell us that it cares about AI, alongside the launch of its first foldable phone and Pixel-branded tablet. This year, the company is going to supercharge its apps, services, and Android operating system with AI technology. We discuss this and more on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Google Pixel 8

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Smaller form factor makes it more comfortable to hold
Excellent and bright display
Cameras are still the best
Packed with AI features

Bad
Battery life is still not the best
Expensive
Tends to heat up under heavy load

Read detailed Google Pixel 8 review

Display 6.20-inch

Processor Google Tensor G3

Front Camera 11-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 4575mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 1080x2400 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

Google Pixel 8 Pro

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Premium design, IP68 rating
Fun AI-infused software experience
Good quality cameras
Quality video recording
Impressive image editing software
Long-term commitment to software updates

Bad
Gets warm under load
Buggy camera app
Not made for gaming
Average battery life
Relatively slow wired charging

Read detailed Google Pixel 8 Pro review

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Google Tensor G3

Front Camera 11-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 64-megapixel + 48-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 5050mAh

OS Android 14

Resolution 1344x2992 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

Google Pixel 7

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Sharp, 90Hz display
Good quality cameras
Good gaming performance
Bloatware-free software, timely updates
Good battery life
IP68 rating

Bad
Video recording could be better
Gets warm under load
No bundled charger
Relatively slow charging

Read detailed Google Pixel 7 review

Display 6.30-inch

Processor Google Tensor G2

Front Camera 10.8-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 8GB

Storage 128GB

OS Android 13

Resolution 1080x2400 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

Google Pixel 7 Pro

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Sharp, 120Hz display
Good quality cameras
Good gaming performance
Bloatware-free software, timely updates
Premium design, IP68 rating

Bad
Gets warm under load
No bundled charger
Underwhelming battery life
Relatively slow charging

Read detailed Google Pixel 7 Pro review

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Google Tensor G2

Front Camera 10.8-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 12GB

Storage 128GB

OS Android 13

Resolution 1440x3120 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 8 Pro, Google, Google Pixel 7, eSIM

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More