It’s reasonable to expect that a specific phone model will have the same features regardless of which country you buy it in. But for the Pixel 10 line, this is not the case. While international versions of the Pixel 10, 10 Pro, and 10 Pro XL include the physical SIM card slot, as usual for the company’s smartphone lineup, the US phones ditch the slot and fully embrace eSIM for the first time.
Other phone brands sell their products with slight variations in specifications depending on region. For example, European iPhones are very different from American models in hardware and software.
Google announced the 10th generation Pixel 10 series, alongside the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Pixel Watch 4, and Pixel Buds 2a at its Made By Google event held in August 2025. The new devices come with a handful of improvements, including a new Tensor G5 chip under the hood and up to 25W Qi2.2 wireless charging. But beyond all the cool new features highlighted by Android maker during its event, this change to SIM cards by Google was quiet and easy to miss. There are pros and cons to using an eSIM over a physical SIM card, but Google cited different reasons when asked why it decided to ditch the slot on the Pixel 10 series phones in the US.
Why Google removed the physical SIM card slot from US Pixel 10 phones
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In a response to PC Mag, which asked about Google’s removal of the physical SIM card, company representatives said they had to choose between including components for mmWave 5G support and a SIM slot due to limited space inside the devices. Ultimately, they had to compromise and drop the slot because, according to the company, carriers in the United States require phones to support mmWave 5G to be sold because they offer the fastest wireless speeds.
Since the international Pixel 10 series phones do not need mmWave 5G support, they have retained the physical SIM slot. In addition to the mmWave compromise, Google notes that 70% of Pixel owners in the United States are already eSIM-only, suggesting that they have already ditched physical SIM cards, unlike the rest of the world. This was another reason to maintain its place in international markets.
Google also told Android Central that the move allowed it to offer its “cleanest design yet,” without a SIM tray or mmWave antenna cutout. While the removal of the SIM card slot was intended to accommodate mmWave 5G components, Google suggested that the extra space could also be used for other improvements. In its statement to Android Central, the company explained that Pixel 10 phones without a SIM slot have more space for battery and other features.
