Motorola Phones Now Have a Built-In Travel eSIM for Mobile Data Outside the US

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. But Motorola is now making it even more hassle-free by building a native travel eSIM experience into its smartphones. 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. 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.) 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-and-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. 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. 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. “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.” 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. [Image text:] 9:30 949 Where are you going? Country Region Popular destinations United States France Italy Spain + United Kingdom All supported countries Albania 9 O 101