Motorola builds a travel eSIM app into phones

Motorola Global – Motorola is rolling out a native travel eSIM experience via a preinstalled (future) or downloadable app called Global Connect, starting in select Latin American markets and expanding to Europe soon—offering data-only roaming without airport SIM hassles.

The moment you land, you want your maps to work—fast. For travelers, the old routine of hunting for a SIM kiosk at the airport has long been replaced by travel eSIMs. Now Motorola is trying to erase even more friction by building that experience directly into its smartphones.

Motorola says its native travel eSIM capability will arrive through an app called Global Connect. The app is initially available to download from the Google Play Store. and it will be preinstalled on new Motorola devices in the future. The service is designed for any Motorola phone with eSIM capabilities, including models as inexpensive as the $180 2026 Moto G Play.

At launch, Global Connect is only available 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 hasn’t shared anything about US availability yet.

Travel eSIMs are built for the exact moment travelers leave home: they can activate a data-only eSIM that works in the destination. without needing to use a physical SIM card. In practice. that means you can top up data through an app and pay as you go. typically without the need to stop at an airport SIM kiosk.

Motorola’s approach keeps the “data-only” limitation typical of this category. Customers won’t be able to make calls or send texts using the travel eSIM. Motorola is counting on the fact that many travelers rely on apps—WhatsApp is cited as widely adopted in tourist destinations.

The service is powered by Gigs, a San Francisco firm that helps companies sell mobile data plans without dealing with complex telecom negotiations and contracts. Motorola says it worked closely with Gigs so the experience feels like a “Motorola-branded experience” rather than a third-party add-on.

Motorola also points to the novelty of what it’s doing: he says it’s the first time a major smartphone manufacturer has embedded a travel eSIM function natively into its phones. Motorola acknowledges that Chinese phone maker Xiaomi offered a similar virtual travel SIM function as far back as 2015. though it has since discontinued the feature.

The setup is meant to be straightforward. Sudhir Chadaga, vice president for Partnerships at Motorola, says customers install the Global Connect app, create a Gigs account, and get 1 GB for free with their first travel eSIM (available for a limited time). After that, they can top up data as needed.

Chadaga also lays out pricing and reach. Motorola says the rates are competitive: $3 for 1 GB for 30 days, up to $14 for 20 GB. The company says the service is available in more than 160 countries, and that travelers can continue to use the same travel eSIM for all their 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. With Global Connect, that’s exactly what we’re bringing to our users,” Chadaga tells WIRED.

That “friction point” matters because the savings are where travel eSIMs tend to win. Motorola’s pitch is that travel eSIMs can be far cheaper than paying for data through international roaming, which relies on your primary carrier connecting you to networks in other countries.

Siddhant Cally, a senior analyst on the Networks and Connectivity team at Counterpoint Research, puts numbers behind that gap. He says that in some regions, legacy network operators were offering roaming for half the data but at double the price of travel eSIMs.

The economics. paired with how easily eSIMs can be downloaded and saved before a trip. has helped drive travel eSIM popularity. And since travelers can still use data to make WhatsApp or FaceTime calls and send messages. the lack of call and text support tied to your own number often isn’t a dealbreaker.

US carriers have tried to meet that challenge with their own approaches. The story notes that T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T have offered travel eSIM options for people entering the US during the World Cup as a response to third-party travel eSIM apps.

Motorola’s move looks like a bid to make the choice feel less like one more app to manage and more like a built-in part of the phone—just in time for the next trip, not for the next airport line.

Motorola travel eSIM Global Connect eSIM mobile data roaming Gigs WhatsApp Xiaomi Moto G Play Europe availability