Android 13 will allow users to connect to two operators on one eSIM card

For those who are tired of switching carriers on SIM and eSIM, Google will provide a solution in Android 13: allowing multiple profiles on one eSIM.

Mishaal Rahman, senior technical editor of Android developer platform Esper, published a blog post on Thursday saying that the Android Open Source Project and the Android Developer website mentioned Google's solution to allow multiple enablement profiles (MEPs), which indicates that it will appear in the next major Android 13 update.

This would make it easier for those who switch between carrier networks, and it also cuts hardware costs by not having to set aside space for one or two physical SIM cards. And phone makers could use that space to expand the battery capacity or provide expandable storage via a micro SD card.

American consumers probably won’t be switching SIM profiles on their phones widely, but it’s handy for those who switch between personal and professional lines. More importantly, the feature is a big priority for phone users in other countries where phone makers sell devices that combine a physical SIM and an eSIM or two physical SIMs.

Currently, phones rely on a physical connection between the SIM card and the modem, requiring separate connections for multiple SIM cards. Google's MEP solution, which was patented in 2020, splits a single physical interface between different digital (logical) connections. After discovering evidence that Google has been experimenting with the MEP solution on "unspecified Pixel hardware," Rahman predicts that this approach will debut in Android 13. But this solution is not specific to Android, which means it can be applied to other operating systems such as iOS or Windows.