Speculation is mounting that Apple may entirely drop physical SIMs in its iPhone 18 range to be announced in September.

Nothing is set in stone, but Techmaniacs, a Greek technology news website, says Apple is ditching physical SIMs to find new space for a bigger battery in iPhones.

Why a Greek tech publication is the leading authority on this is an interesting question, but US tech publications are taking the leak seriously.

“A new piece of information has just reached Techmaniacs, regarding the iPhone 18, which is the logical explanation for the rumours we have been hearing lately about the battery increase of the iPhone 18,” says a translation of the Techmaniacs article.

“It seems that Apple, after the experiment in the US, found a way to secure a little more space inside the device, by removing support for a physical SIM card.

“So, if you want one of the iPhone 18s, you will have to change the way you use your phone until now, since you will not be able to put a SIM card in it. Instead of the physical SIM card, all iPhone 18s will support eSIM exclusively. Now, the device will accept two eSIMs, for those who want to have a second number.

“Apple will likely take advantage of the small space occupied by the SIM card and its tray to offer a slightly larger battery in its devices, with rumours so far suggesting that the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s battery will reach 5,100 to 5,200mAh.”

iPhone users will no doubt be happy about a bigger battery given that modern screens can be power hungry.

Techmaniacs says the iPhone 18 will support two eSIMs. That’s no better than the current situation where iPhone 13 upwards supports two active eSIMs, but many iPhone models can store eight or more eSIM profiles. You switch between them.

I recently used an eSIM in my iPhone 14 while travelling overseas. I found it convenient to shop around for a good deal and then install the eSIM without going within cooey of a telco shop.