SIM card format and size comparison

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Compare the different SIM format described in the specifications: Full-size vs Mini-SIM vs Micro-SIM vs Nano-SIM vs Embedded-SIM.

Thanks to Apple and it's iPhone versions, there is now several SIM sizes used in our smartphones or tablets. The iPhone 4 made the microSIM size widely used, several other manufacturer adopted this format. Now the iPhone 5 introduced the NanoSIM size, which is even smaller.

The iPhone XS and iPhone XR introduced the eSIM format along a NanoSIM to support dual SIM.

To have a visual size comparison of the SIM formats, don't forget to click on the chart icon in the top left corner of the table.

Link	Full-size	Mini-SIM	Micro-SIM	Nano-SIM	Embedded-SIM
Vista frontale
Same contact as full size	Sì	Sì	Sì	Sì	No soldered
Form factor	1FF	2FF	3FF	4FF
Standard reference	ISO/IEC 7810:2003, ID-1	ISO/IEC 7810:2003, ID-000	ETSI TS 102 221 V9.0.0, Mini-UICC	ETSI TS 102 221 V11.0.0	JEDEC Design Guide 4.8, SON-8
Devices using it	(credit card size)	Early mobile phones	iPhone 4	iPhone 5	iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR
Dimensioni
Altezza	85.6 mm	25 mm	15 mm	12.3 mm	6 mm
Larghezza	53.98 mm	15 mm	12 mm	8.8 mm	5 mm
Profondità	0.76 mm	0.76 mm	0.76 mm	0.67 mm	1 mm less than

Vista frontale

Same contact as full size

Sì

No soldered

Form factor

1FF

2FF

3FF

4FF

Standard reference

ISO/IEC 7810:2003, ID-1

ISO/IEC 7810:2003, ID-000

ETSI TS 102 221 V9.0.0, Mini-UICC

ETSI TS 102 221 V11.0.0

JEDEC Design Guide 4.8, SON-8

Devices using it

(credit card size)

Early mobile phones

iPhone 4

iPhone 5

iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR

Dimensioni

Altezza

85.6 mm

25 mm

15 mm

12.3 mm

6 mm

Larghezza

53.98 mm

15 mm

12 mm

8.8 mm

5 mm

Profondità

0.76 mm

0.67 mm

1 mm less than

User reviews and comments

Alexis on 2018-12-13 21:42:16

@dave5x
The ORBITEL 901 was one of the first "mobile" phone to use sim cards:
imei.info/...
But this website says it use the mini-SIM formats.
The full-size format is the default smart card dimensions. It might not have been used inside a real phone.

dave5x on 2018-12-13 20:50:08

Beautiful. The full-size one reminds me of the 8" floppy disks of yore. I'd like to see sample pictures of a few devices that used the full-size SIM card.