Verizon Expected to Implement eSIM Support for iPhone XR and XS on December 7

Verizon is expected to implement support for the eSIM in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR on December 7, according to an internal employee memo that was shared with MacRumors.

Apple's newest iPhones have supported eSIM functionality since the October release of iOS 12.1, but to use the feature, carriers also needed to add support. At the time iOS 12.1 was released, U.S. carriers that include Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T said that support would not be implemented until later in the year.

AT&T at the time said that there were issues with visual voicemail, while Verizon had to work out some issues that would cause performance problems when its customers activated eSIMs from other carriers.

According to the document seen by MacRumors, Verizon will be implementing dual-SIM support and it will start activating eSIMs on Friday, December 7.

"Verizon will support Dual SIM activations on physical SIMs and eSIMs on select iPhones. Please visit the training portal to learn how to activate," reads the document.

Following today's release of iOS 12.1.1, several additional carriers around the world began rolling out eSIM support, including AT&T in the United States, so it's no surprise that Verizon would will shortly after.

The eSIM, or digital SIM, is a non-physical SIM card slot that pairs with the physical SIM in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR to enable dual-SIM dual-standby, a feature that lets iPhone users have two phone numbers available at once.

With dual-SIM support, iPhone users are supposed to be able to swap between the two phone numbers readily, alleviating the need for a second phone or SIM swapping for work and travel.