[Bob@Stews]

For those that have E SIM activated in their vehicles, exactly what advantages does it have over simply having your cell hooked up via bluetooth/wifi? I understand that with it, your car is its' own cell phone but if you use apps like Waze and such, don't they actually run off the phone, not the E SIM that vehicle provides? I also see the claim that your cell service will work off the car's antenna instead of the phones antenna. Just wondering...

[crabman]

Kind of a money grab in a world where unlimited data is becoming more the rule than the exception. Tidal, amazon, spotify, Goog maps, Waze, etc, whatever you're using in Android auto, is pulled down on the phone. Not sure how Apple interacts with the car.

The only benefit I can see off hand, is that when packing kids, they would be able to connect to the car automatically, without you having to start a hotspot on your phone. Mine are grown and I seldom schlep grandchildren, when I do, I just light off a hotspot which I already have for them to use in other circumstances. It's just a tap away, but still a step a built-in connection would skip.

I read about the phone using the car antenna but I've seen no evidence of it. Not saying it isn't happening, but I see no change in the signal on the phone or in ID8.5. Maybe someone will chime in about it, I'm curious myself.

[andyrp]

Advantages:
Wifi hot spot in the vehicle
Video app works
YouTube works

Not sure if Air Console needs E-SIM as well.

[BatMeoW]

Originally Posted by andyrp

Not sure if Air Console needs E-SIM as well.

It needs it here, in Australia. However, this is country specific.