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The Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G and Z Fold 3 5G are single-SIM in the US. No eSIM, too

By Preslav Kateliev

Updated: Aug 12, 2021, 9:08 AM

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The Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G and Z Fold 3 5G are single-SIM in the US. No eSIM, too

Samsung often launches its devices with various hardware variations depending on what market they are going out to. The biggest example here that comes to mind is the Qualcomm / Exynos split — the USA and South Korea variants of Samsung flagships usually get a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, while EU and other international models are powered by a similarly-specced Exynos (Samsung’s in-house chip) processor.

But there’s another difference in hardware, that doesn’t blip on everyone’s radar, but is sure to irk some US-based customers. That’s the availability of dual SIM models. Look at any US-bound Samsung phone, you’ll find out it doesn’t have a dual SIM slot in its tray, and it doesn’t support eSIM next to your physical SIM. Recently, T-Mobile Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra units were said to be getting an eSIM unlock, so hopes are high that Samsung phones in the US will finally be getting dual SIM capabilities. Here’s something of note: the Note 20 series are now a year old, nothing was even said about the most recent Galaxy S21 series.

So, at their hands-on session with the new Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, PCMag were wise enough to check for eSIM support specifically. Apparently — nope, no eSIM in the States.

International Samsung phones very often have some sort of dual SIM support. Either two physical slots for different SIM cards or — at the very least — one SIM slot and the ability to register an eSIM for a secondary account or number.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3

128GB, up to $700 off with trade-in + free Buds2 and wireless charger

$299 ⁹⁹

$999 ⁹⁹

Expired

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

256GB, up to $1050 off with trade-in + free Buds2 and wireless charger

$749 ⁹⁹

$1799 ⁹⁹

Expired

Dual SIM support is a niche need — sure

Not many people use it, but there are still customers that appreciate it. Some users walk around with two phones to separate their personal from their business lives. Some people enjoy the service of two different carriers, either for coverage reasons, or using data packages from one and call minutes from the other. And it makes things so much easier when you travel abroad, too.

Whatever your need is, the technology is there, other countries are able to enjoy it. It kind of makes sense that after shelling out $1,799.99 (or less — check the Z Fold 3 deals here) for a brand-new Galaxy Z Fold 3, you probably wouldn’t be a fan of needing yet another phone if you are one of these dual-line users (on the other hand, seeing as the Z Fold 3 is still not dust-protected, you probably want to have a backup phone for hiking and beach trips).

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 does support eSIM — it’s just disabled for its US variants. To top it off, international Z Fold 3 units will also have two physical nanoSIM card slots, and that’s on top of supporting eSIM, whereas US models get one.

Same story with the Z Flip 3 — its specs say “one nanoSIM and one eSIM”. Scratch that, in the US, it’s just the former.

Why does Samsung disable dual SIM in the United States?

It probably has to do with carrier relations. Carriers themselves aren’t huge fans of just letting the user subscribe to a competitor and potentially fully switch to them down the line. So, perhaps it’s a part of the partnership agreement that manufacturers enter with carriers to sell their phones through carriers.

PCMag also astutely pointed out that OnePlus phones used to come with dual SIM for years on end. However, they stopped doing so in the US with the OnePlus 9, since its partnership with T-Mobile has grown to be quite solid.

Apple kind of pried open the flood gates for dual SIM users in the US, but they still won’t budge to a “fully opened” state. The iPhone XS did introduce support for both physical SIM and eSIM, and the latter is not disabled because — you know — Apple does what Apple does. The only caveat used to be that, if you were using an iPhone 12 series device in dual SIM mode, you weren’t able to connect to 5G. But that was fixed with iOS 14.5 (author originally forgot that detail. Thanks goes to commenter niteiknight!)

The Google Pixels (from the Pixel 4 and up) also support both physical and eSIM in the USA. So, apparently, there’s a door open for Android devices as well. Maybe old contracts need to expire first, before deals are re-signed. Hey, remember how Sony wasn’t allowed to launch Xperia devices with a fingerprint scanner for years on end because of an (alleged) weird clause in one of its carrier distribution contracts?

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Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.