TECH

Smartphone sales without physical SIM card increase in Russia

According to network sources, the demand for smartphones with support for electronic SIM cards (eSIM) has grown significantly in Russia. This is reported by the Vedomosti edition with reference to representatives of retail chains.
The growth in demand for devices with electronic SIM-cards propelled Vimpelcom (provides services under the Beeline brand) and Megafon to start connecting subscribers through eSIM. These operators started providing eSIM connectivity in late July, and the service has been available under the Tele2 brand since last year.
The source says that since the beginning of 2020, the demand for smartphones with eSIM support in the Russian market has grown 2.8 times over the same period last year. The press office of M.Video-Eldorado noted that in August alone the sales level of these smartphones increased 3.5 times.
According to the Svyaznoy chain, in the period from January to August, sales of smartphones with support for electronic SIM cards in the Russian market compared to the same period last year increased by 178% in volume and 158% in monetary terms. In August, the physical and monetary variations in relation to the previous month were 10% and 9%, respectively. According to Svyaznoy's estimates, in the period from January to August 2020, about 1.6 million devices with support for eSIM were sold in Russia for a total of 106 billion rubles. The most popular among Russians was the iPhone 11, whose share in terms of parts was 60%, and in monetary terms - 67%.

AVnews