Motorola Phones Now Have a Built-In Travel eSIM for Mobile Data Outside the US
Motorola Phones Now Have a Built-In Travel eSIM for Mobile Data Outside the US
摩托罗拉手机现已内置旅行 eSIM，可在境外使用移动数据
There’s been an explosion in popularity in recent years for travel eSIMs. This is thanks to how easy eSIMs have become to set up on a phone, and how much more inexpensive their data plans can be when compared to what you’ll pay in international roaming fees. 近年来，旅行 eSIM 的普及率呈爆炸式增长。这得益于 eSIM 在手机上的设置变得非常简单，而且与国际漫游费用相比，其数据套餐的价格要便宜得多。
But Motorola is now making it even more hassle-free by building a native travel eSIM experience into its smartphones. 现在，摩托罗拉通过在其智能手机中内置原生旅行 eSIM 功能，让这一过程变得更加轻松便捷。
The capability is initially available as an app customers will have to download from the Google Play Store, called Global Connect, but the app will be preinstalled on new Motorola devices in the future. It’s available for any Motorola phone with eSIM capabilities—including smartphones as cheap as the $180 2026 Moto G Play—though it’s currently only available for use in a handful of Latin American markets: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Motorola says support for use in Germany, the UK, and Europe is coming in the next several weeks. The company didn’t have anything to share about US availability just yet. 该功能最初以名为“Global Connect”的应用程序形式提供，用户需从 Google Play 商店下载，但未来该应用将预装在新款摩托罗拉设备上。任何具备 eSIM 功能的摩托罗拉手机均可使用此功能，包括售价仅 180 美元的 2026 款 Moto G Play。不过，目前该服务仅在巴西、墨西哥、阿根廷、秘鲁和智利等少数拉美市场可用。摩托罗拉表示，未来几周内将支持德国、英国及欧洲其他地区。该公司尚未透露关于美国市场的可用性信息。
Travel eSIMs give travelers an easy way to instantly access a data-only eSIM that works in their destination—even before hopping on a flight. It means you don’t have to stop by a SIM card kiosk at the airport and fuss with physical SIM cards to connect to the internet at your destination. You can top up your data allotment through an app and pay as you go. These eSIMs often don’t include the ability to make calls and send texts, and that’s the case here with Motorola’s solution. (Thankfully, WhatsApp is widely adopted in tourist destinations.) 旅行 eSIM 为旅客提供了一种便捷的方式，让他们在登机前就能即时获取目的地可用的纯数据 eSIM。这意味着你无需在机场的 SIM 卡柜台停留，也不必为了在目的地连接网络而折腾实体 SIM 卡。你可以通过应用程序充值流量，随用随付。这些 eSIM 通常不包含通话和短信功能，摩托罗拉的方案也是如此。（好在 WhatsApp 在旅游目的地已被广泛使用。）
The service is powered by Gigs, a San Francisco firm that helps companies sell mobile data plans without having to deal with complex telecom negotiations and contracts. It’s the same company behind the mobile plans from Klarna, the buy-now, pay-later service, and more recently, Cash App. Motorola says it worked closely with Gigs to make the experience feel like a “Motorola-branded experience” and not a third-party add-on. 该服务由旧金山公司 Gigs 提供支持，该公司帮助企业销售移动数据套餐，而无需处理复杂的电信谈判和合同。Klarna（先买后付服务）以及最近的 Cash App 的移动套餐背后也是这家公司。摩托罗拉表示，他们与 Gigs 紧密合作，旨在让用户体验感觉像是“摩托罗拉品牌原生体验”，而非第三方插件。
While Motorola claims this is the first time a major smartphone manufacturer has embedded a travel eSIM function natively into its phones, Chinese phone maker Xiaomi offered a similar virtual travel SIM function as far back as 2015, though it has since discontinued the feature. 虽然摩托罗拉声称这是主流智能手机制造商首次将旅行 eSIM 功能原生嵌入手机，但中国手机制造商小米早在 2015 年就提供过类似的虚拟旅行 SIM 功能，尽管该功能后来已被取消。
Sudhir Chadaga, vice president for partnerships at Motorola, says customers have to install the Global Connect app, create a Gigs account, and they’ll get 1 GB for free with their first travel eSIM (available for a limited time), after which they can top up data as needed. Chadaga claims the rates are competitive—$3 for 1 GB for 30 days, up to $14 for 20 GB—and service is available in more than 160 countries. You can continue to use this same travel eSIM for all your travels. 摩托罗拉合作伙伴关系副总裁 Sudhir Chadaga 表示，客户只需安装 Global Connect 应用并创建 Gigs 账户，首次激活旅行 eSIM 即可获得 1GB 免费流量（限时优惠），之后可根据需要充值。Chadaga 声称其费率极具竞争力——30 天 1GB 仅需 3 美元，20GB 最高 14 美元，且服务覆盖全球 160 多个国家。你可以一直使用同一个旅行 eSIM 进行后续的所有旅行。
“What we’re trying to do for our consumers is solve that friction point of getting that travel eSIM quickly on the device as they’re heading out to travel,” Chadaga tells WIRED. “With Global Connect, that’s exactly what we’re bringing to our users.” “我们试图为消费者解决的痛点是，让他们在出发旅行时能快速在设备上获取旅行 eSIM，”Chadaga 在接受《连线》杂志采访时说道，“通过 Global Connect，这正是我们带给用户的体验。”
Travel eSIMs are far cheaper than paying for data while roaming, which is what you’re doing when you rely on your primary carrier to connect you to networks in other countries. Siddhant Cally, a senior analyst on the Networks and Connectivity team at Counterpoint Research, says that in some regions, legacy network operators were offering roaming for half the data but at double the price of travel eSIMs. 旅行 eSIM 比支付漫游数据费用便宜得多，而当你依赖主运营商连接其他国家的网络时，支付的就是漫游费。Counterpoint Research 网络与连接团队的高级分析师 Siddhant Cally 表示，在某些地区，传统网络运营商提供的漫游服务流量仅为旅行 eSIM 的一半，价格却是后者的两倍。
The cheaper rates, paired with how easy it is to download and save a travel eSIM on your phone before your trip, have made them incredibly popular. And since you can still use data to make WhatsApp or FaceTime calls or send messages, the limitation of not being able to send or receive text messages or calls from your own number isn’t a big concern. It’s why US carriers like T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T have tried to counter the challenge of third-party travel eSIM apps to their roaming business with their own travel eSIM options for people entering the US during the World Cup. 更低的价格，加上旅行前在手机上下载和保存 eSIM 的便捷性，使其变得非常受欢迎。由于你仍然可以使用数据流量进行 WhatsApp 或 FaceTime 通话及发送消息，因此无法使用原号码收发短信或通话的限制并不是什么大问题。这也是为什么像 T-Mobile、Verizon 和 AT&T 这样的美国运营商，为了应对第三方旅行 eSIM 应用对其漫游业务的挑战，纷纷为世界杯期间入境美国的人群推出了自己的旅行 eSIM 选项。
Another reason for the growth in adoption is that more phones than ever before now offer eSIM functionality. In the US, Apple has been selling eSIM-only iPhones since 2022; Motorola’s entire range, from budget to flagship, supports eSIMs; Google’s latest Pixel 10 series are eSIM-only. Cally says adoption is still slow in Asian countries, where eSIM hasn’t trickled down as quickly to budget devices, but that won’t be the case for long. 采用率增长的另一个原因是，现在提供 eSIM 功能的手机比以往任何时候都多。在美国，苹果自 2022 年起就开始销售仅支持 eSIM 的 iPhone；摩托罗拉从入门级到旗舰级的全系列产品均支持 eSIM；谷歌最新的 Pixel 10 系列也仅支持 eSIM。Cally 指出，亚洲国家的普及速度仍然较慢，因为 eSIM 尚未迅速下沉到低端设备，但这种情况不会持续太久。
Cally says the market is saturated with thousands of travel eSIM options, from Airalo to Nomad to Holafly. That’s why the next battleground is all about how companies can become the first in line of a traveler’s journey. Some Visa card tiers, travel packages, and even airlines now offer a free travel eSIM, but “nothing gets closer to the first touchpoint than a built-in stock app,” Cally says. He adds that this doesn’t guarantee success, as people will still search for a cheaper plan or service that best suits their destination. Cally 表示，市场上充斥着成千上万种旅行 eSIM 选择，从 Airalo 到 Nomad 再到 Holafly。这就是为什么下一个战场在于企业如何成为旅客旅程中的“第一选择”。一些 Visa 卡等级、旅游套餐甚至航空公司现在都提供免费的旅行 eSIM，但 Cally 认为，“没有什么比内置的原生应用更接近用户的第一触点”。他补充说，这并不能保证成功，因为人们仍然会寻找更便宜或最适合其目的地的套餐或服务。
One reason Motorola may not be launching the service in the US yet, Cally believes, is that the US is primarily a postpaid market, with consumers preferring to rely on their primary mobile network operator, like T-Mobile, Verizon, or AT&T. Folks in other countries may be more open to experimenting and finding the best travel eSIM option. Cally 认为，摩托罗拉尚未在美国推出该服务的一个原因是，美国市场主要以合约机（后付费）为主，消费者更倾向于依赖 T-Mobile、Verizon 或 AT&T 等主移动网络运营商。而其他国家的民众可能更乐于尝试并寻找最佳的旅行 eSIM 方案。
Whether we’ll see other phone makers follow suit is unclear. Cally says Motorola’s partnership with Gigs is “disruptive and novel,” but it’s not something that will entice people to switch to a Motorola phone or stay with the brand. 我们是否会看到其他手机制造商效仿尚不清楚。Cally 表示，摩托罗拉与 Gigs 的合作是“颠覆性且新颖的”，但这并不会成为吸引人们更换摩托罗拉手机或留住品牌用户的决定性因素。