New Nano-SIM Standard Approved

The European Telecommunications Institute (ETSI) has adopted a standardized design for the next-generation "nano-SIM" that is 40% smaller than the current micro-SIM standard.

Today's SIM card designs take up a significant amount of space inside a mobile device. This space is more and more valuable in today's handsets which deliver an ever increasing number of features.

The fourth form factor (4FF) card will be 40% smaller than the current smallest SIM card design, at 12.3mm wide by 8.8mm high, and 0.67mm thick. It can be packaged and distributed in a way that is backwards compatible with existing SIM card designs. The new design will offer the same functionality as all current SIM cards.

Apple’s nano-SIM design was opposed by a number of mobile phone manufacturers. Apple slightly tweaked its design while the opposing carriers also made changes to their own proposal so that their design became much closer to Apple's. The only difference in external design between the two proposals was a notch included in the side of the card proposed by the coalition of manufacturers opposing Apple.

Unfortunately, both Apple's design and the more recent Motorola / RIM compromise design are exactly the same exterior dimensions — the only difference is that the update submitted by Apple's competitors includes an extra notch to enable so-called "push-push" mechanisms in SIM slots that wouldn't necessitate a tray. Until ETSI publishes the specs, we won't know which of the two was chosen.