The number of SIM cards shipped globally will decrease 8.5 percent to 4.33 billion SIM cards in 2022 in the wake of challenges in the semiconductor industry and other issues, ABI Research said.
Though the SIM cards market may start to recover from the chip shortage crisis, significant limitations to growth should be expected, driven by inflation, increased cost of living, and reduction in consumer spending power.

ABI Research said the global SIM cards market will grow 1.8 percent in 2023 against the previous growth expectation of 7.2 percent.

There will be some impact from the launch of eSIM-only Apple smartphone devices in the fall of 2022. Though Apple will initially limit deployment of its Apple 14 eSIM-only devices to the United States, it outlines Apple’s intentions for an eSIM-only handset portfolio.

The U.S. eSIM-only smartphone device launch is a significant industry milestone. Given the shift from removable SIM for-factor to eSIM, it is likely that removable SIM card supply in the United States will be reduced by approximately 50 to 60 million in 2023.