iPhone 12 T-Mobile or Sim free? Upgrading 6S to 12

[squirrrl]

Ok.. I searched the forums for an answer to this but seems like I a more confused than ever....

I'm going to order from Apple, but have to choose (actually for both me and my wife) whether to get the SIM free, which I would usually prefer, or the T-mobile. I like the SIM-free because I don't need an extra T-Mobile SIM (would be a waste) since I just transfer my current SIM to the new phone... BUT....

Now I'm reading on here that maybe my SIM won't work for 5G? Is this true? Again, I have a 6S+ and wife has SE (first gen).

So.... Do I get the T-mobile versions for both because I *NEED* the new SIM for 5G? or will my old ones work just fine....

Second Question: since the T-Mobile version of the iPhone 12 mini is $30 less, why *WOULDN'T* I get this instead? Isn't the only difference that one has a T-Mobile SIM installed and one does not?

 

[BuggyGT]

This might help

T-Mobile reminding some customers to use newer SIM card to access standalone 5G

Did you get a text message from T-Mobile telling you that you should swap your SIM card to get the best 5G experience? If so, you’re not alone. T-Mobile is sending texts to some customers this week to remind them that it’s a good idea to upgrade to the ... [read full article]

www.tmonews.com

 

[squirrrl]

Ah! Thank you! I will be ordering both phones T-Mobile version then.

Out of curiosity then, anyone have an answer to my second question:

since the T-Mobile version of the iPhone 12 mini is $30 less, why *WOULDN'T* I get this instead?

Besides the presence of an actual SIM card, there's no actual difference, right?

And as a follow-up: Since eSIMs are available (unless i'm mistaken), why does it matter if there's a physical SIM or not? I would probably want to get an eSIM so I can install a pre-paid SIM when I travel abroad for dual-SIM usage.