US Google Pixel 10 owners are getting physical SIM slots after all

One of the big changes that landed with the launch of the Google Pixel 10 was the removal of the physical SIM card slot. But reports are coming in that this position might not be the final word when it comes to the Pixel 10.

While the US has removed the physical SIM slot – reportedly to include the mmWave antenna in that location – global versions of the handset do have a SIM card slot. Google followed the move of Apple with the launch of the iPhone 14 in removing the physical SIM slot, but so far, it's only the US where this has been prioritised.

According to 9to5Google, some Pixel 10 owners in the US have received the global model with a physical SIM tray. There's a caveat to this – it's only being reported by those who have returned the device and received a replacement.

These replacements are been reported on Reddit, where already the debate is raging about whether it's an upgrade or not. Some customers in the US aren't happy to have received the global version, because of the lacking mmWave support.

mmWave 5G is used by the three major US carriers – AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile – and some in dense areas might find that's the solution to their high-speed 5G connectivity. However, some others might feel that having a physical SIM card to switch between devices remains an advantage.

For those users already using eSIM, the global version supports eSIM in exactly the same way and if you want to stick to the physical SIM then that's no problem.

While this is an interesting quirk, it's unclear why this situation arose. It might be that there was some stock confusion, but it seems to have happened repeatedly, which is what makes it interesting.

The question is whether you should attempt return your device to get yourself the model with the physical SIM slot if you're in the US. Firstly, there's no guarantee that you'll actually receive one. This doesn't seem like an official policy.

Secondly, it's worth checking the supported bands and those used by your network to see if you're going to miss out on some of the connectivity. For most users in the US, it's probably likely that sticking to eSIM to include that mmWave support is likely the best option.