Devices that support eSIM
An eSIM does not work on every phone. Below are the lines support became common with, a way to check your own handset, and the conditions besides the model itself.
Support depends on the model of the phone
eSIM support is a property of the phone itself and not of the plan: no plan can add it to a device that does not have it.
What follows is a set of lines by maker. It is a pointer and not the full boundary of support: one model ships in versions for different markets, and the handset in your hand decides rather than the name of the model.
iPhone
These are generations rather than a complete list of handsets: a single model can ship in a market version without an eSIM.
iPhone XS, XS Max and XR — the first models with an eSIM.
iPhone 11 and every generation after it.
iPhone SE of the second generation (2020) and the third (2022); the original SE has none.
Samsung Galaxy
With Samsung the boundary runs by model and by market at once, so the lines are named rather than every handset in them.
Galaxy S20 and newer, in the global versions.
Galaxy Note20 and Note20 Ultra.
The folding Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip of the recent generations.
Some of the A series — this is where support varies most, so check your own model.
Google Pixel
A shorter list, and a pointer all the same: on the early models support depended on the market and on the operator.
Pixel 3 and newer.
On the Pixel 3 and 3 XL the eSIM did not work everywhere or with every operator; the later generations carry fewer such caveats.
Other Android phones
There will be no list of models here: with the remaining makers an eSIM depends on the model and on the market more than anywhere else, and we are not going to guess.
Motorola, Sony, Xiaomi, Oppo, Honor, Huawei — an eSIM turns up across the flagship lines.
On the budget models it more often does not.
There is no boundary by maker: it runs by the particular model and by the market the handset was built for.
How to check for yourself
The phone answers this itself, and no list is needed for it.
Neither way gives a certain no: an empty result is a reason to look at the specification of the handset rather than a conclusion.
Dial *#06# on the phone's keypad — a standard code that does not depend on the firmware. If the answer shows an EID beside the IMEI, the phone takes an eSIM.
Open the mobile network settings and look for the item that adds an eSIM. On some firmware the EID is shown only here, so an empty answer to *#06# is not yet a no.
Market versions
One and the same model ships in versions for different markets, and their eSIM differs.
The Chinese versions of iPhone and Samsung have traditionally shipped without an eSIM, with two trays for physical SIMs instead. That is changing, so we will not state it about any particular handset.
From the other end, the American iPhone 14 and newer ship with no tray at all and run on an eSIM alone. Which leaves one conclusion: go by the specification of the handset in your hand and not by the name of the model.
The phone must not be locked to one operator
A phone locked to an operator will not take another operator's profile. This is not a property of eSIM: such a phone does not work with another operator's plastic SIM either.
If the phone was bought from an operator on a contract, unlocking it is a question for that operator.
If your model is in none of the lists
The lists above are about the lines eSIM support became common with, and not about the full boundary of it.
About a phone of another maker we state nothing: look at the specification of the device itself.