experience with airalo or other non-physical esims?

I've recently been testing Airalo esim on my Pixel 4a. Born in 1955, I'm slowly getting the hang of it (I think). But I've haven't left the U.S. yet. Has anyone used this service, or a similar one, in Europe, Africa, Asia, or South America?

Yes, we’ve used it in Europe. The main advantage is not having to deal with purchasing a physical SIM in a store. The disadvantages were not having a phone number for parking apps, not being able to make phone calls, and seemingly a rapid consumption of data. I typically used 200 Mb per day without any kind of streaming or video. Google Maps used about half of that daily load. I had to recharge so much I doubt I saved money from a physical SIM.

I was born in 1942 so have a few years on you. I really need a phone number in Europe so years ago bought a French SIM card for my mobile phone. I just pop in the French SIM when I get on the plane and then can use the phone as soon as we land. We use it to contact the place we lease our car and the places we are staying as well as restaurant reservations and Google Maps for directions. The Google Maps are especially nice when we're walking because we don't have the car GPS when we're walking.

There are many options including phones that hold two SIMS so you don't even have to change them. My next phone will be one of those, but I'm cheap and won't get another phone until this one falls apart. I have a SIM from LeFrench Mobile and it can be used all over the world. The rates vary from place to place so check that before you use it. It is the same rate all over Europe so convenient for us since that's the only place we go. The reason I got it is because we usually (preCOVID) go to Europe twice a year and I wanted to keep the same phone number. Many SIMS are only good if you use the phone at least once a quarter and some every month. LeFrench lets you keep your number forever if you pay a fee of less than a dollar (USA) a month for it. It's been very handy since COVID since we've only gone over once in 2021 and not at all this year.

Here is a link to my blog entry that lists about 8 or 9 sites where you can easily get a SIM to go in your mobile phone. Click here for "What About Your Cell Phone in France" by Beausoleil

Re: Post #3 above . . . LeFrench Mobile has gone out of business so is no longer an option. I'm currently searching since I've lost my French phone number that I've had for a decade. There are esims with a phone number and you can make calls so I may look at one of those or just get a phone that can hold two Sim cards.