Apple Allegedly Preparing for iPhones Without SIM Card Slot by September 2022 [Updated]

[sniberg]

RIP easy SIM swaps while traveling

Just curious. Why SIM-swaps?
Don't you have subscriptions with free use in other countries at the very same cost?

I am living in Denmark and I can use my iPhone, iPad and AppleWatch (e-sim) in 72 countries including USA just like home. Same prise, same features. And the number of countries is growing rapidly.

Right now I can use phone and data in:

Spoiler: Countries

• Albania
• Virgin Islands
• Andorra
• Argentina
• Australia
• Azors
• Belgium
• Bosnien-Hercegovina
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Chile
• Cypres
• Dubai
• England
• Estonia
• Finland
• UAE
• France
• French Guyana
• Faroe Islands
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Guadeloupe
• Holland
• Hongkong
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Iceland
• Isle of Man
• Israel
• Italy
• Canary Islands
• China
• Kosovo
• Croatia
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macao
• Malaysia
• Malta
• Martinique
• Mexico
• Montenegro
• New Zealand
• Northern Ireland
• North Makedonia
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Puerto Rico
• Rumania
• Russia
• San Marino
• Schweiz
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Scotland
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Sweden
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Chechia
• Tyrkey
• Germany
• Hungary
• USA
• Vietnam
• Wales
• Austria

 

[bingeciren]

Very nice but what if the phone you want to transfer from is damaged and not even turning on.

 

[PC_tech]

I’m in the US and have been using my eSim for prepaid (AT&T) since the day my iPhone 13 released.

We offer them at Tmobile as well.

 

[dukebound85]

And that includes the US. Without the physical SIM I won't be able to upgrade with my cheap T-Mobile $15/mo plan.

i would expect things not to stay the same and that these will be changes seen

 

[UnusedLoginID]

There’s a lot of potential issues with e-SIM only.
- Transferring a phone number or removing the service when you don’t have the older phone or it’s not working. Apple needs to work on this immediately. Basically the number should activate/deactivate when you log in with your AppleID which brings the issue that…
- activating a phone number on e-SIM requires the carrier intervention. What if you don’t have access to a working phone to call them or access to wifi. Apple also needs to work on a program where they can activate an EXISTING phone instead of being limited to activation during the purchase process (online or in-store) of a new phone. Having to return the phone during its return policy and repurchase the same phone with activation is plain silly!
- there are still third-party carriers who don’t support e-SIM. The list on Apple’s web site is still very limited

Find wireless carriers and worldwide service providers that offer eSIM service on iPhone - Apple Support

An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows you to activate a mobile data plan from your network provider without having to use a physical nano-SIM. Find out which wireless carriers in your country or region offer cellular plans on an eSIM, either activated by eSIM Carrier Activation, eSIM Quick...

support.apple.com

My opinion: that rumor is just that… a rumor! Not going to happen any time soon

 

[MedRed]

Just curious. Why SIM-swaps?
Don't you have subscriptions with free use in other countries at the very same cost?

I am living in Denmark and I can use my iPhone, iPad and AppleWatch (e-sim) in 72 countries including USA just like home. Same prise, same features. And the number of countries is growing rapidly.

Right now I can use phone and data in:

Spoiler: Countries

• Albania
• Virgin Islands
• Andorra
• Argentina
• Australia
• Azors
• Belgium
• Bosnien-Hercegovina
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Chile
• Cypres
• Dubai
• England
• Estonia
• Finland
• UAE
• France
• French Guyana
• Faroe Islands
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Guadeloupe
• Holland
• Hongkong
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Iceland
• Isle of Man
• Israel
• Italy
• Canary Islands
• China
• Kosovo
• Croatia
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macao
• Malaysia
• Malta
• Martinique
• Mexico
• Montenegro
• New Zealand
• Northern Ireland
• North Makedonia
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Puerto Rico
• Rumania
• Russia
• San Marino
• Schweiz
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Scotland
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Sweden
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Chechia
• Tyrkey
• Germany
• Hungary
• USA
• Vietnam
• Wales
• Austria

That's a carrier dependent perk. Is Japan missing from that list?

 

[name99]

These all appear to be an international SIM that works in Sudan via ZAIN Sudan, but it doesn't look like you get a Sudan phone number (with a Sudan country code).

"no sudanese mobile number available"

That means that locals in Sudan can't call you on this SIM without incurring international charges. I bought my Sudan SIM at the Khartoum airport when I arrived and just popped it in. I therefore had a local Sudan number and locals could call me like any other number in Sudan. Having a local number is critical as nobody in Sudan is going to call a UK, German or other foreign number to talk to me when I am already in Sudan.

and for the Iranian one: "eSIM Data only - no mobile Number". So with this SIM Iranian friends in Iran can't call you. That's useless.

My Czech SIM worked in Sudan, but again, I needed a local Sudan mobile number. The only way to get that is with a local Sudan mobile operator and it's going to be a SIM card (not an eSIM) just like the vast majority of the developing world.

You keep moving the goalposts.
For *MY* use cases, eSIM is fine. If you want to complain, at least make sure your complaint clarifies EXACTLY what you are after.
For most of us (certainly me) *ALL* I care about when traveling is data. I don't care about a local number.
Even for many of the use cases you describe, as long as your friends have whatsapp or wechat or whatever, problem is solved, doesn't matter that your nominal number is a US number.
You're shrinking the pool of issues to some tiny fraction of visitors who need to communicate with others who are so poor that they cannot afford even a basic (wechat/whatapp/viber-ready) phone, or have to communicate with landlines.

 

[Apleeseed84]

I hate esim coming from a retail perspective because once you scan it for a sale and the customer changes their mind, it becomes completely useless to the point they have to send the new device back to apple to reset it. ??

 

[esimguy]

Interesting. I have yet to find a country that offers eSims for prepaid

Thailand: DTAC Tourist, AIS SIM2Fly 120 country SIM Hong Kong: 3 HK France: Orange ... esimdb.com is a good starting point.

 

[esimguy]

They weren’t willing to make a dual-sim iphone. They had to make one for China because the local laws prohibit the use of eSiMs. And that model is rare because they only sell it in China, not elsewhere, so it’s a lot more difficult to get than the regular non dual sim models sold elsewhere. If you don’t think that makes the dual sim iphone a rare one, then please explain your definition of rare. On the other hand, Even if they sell the regular model with eSIM and physical SIM in China, the eSIM can’t be used there at all because by law the local carriers aren’t allowed to activate it, so it’s puzzling why apple is selling it there if that’s the case.

It's a curious mystery why China has suppressed ( Huawei P40 has some eSIM support ) eSIM? Note that roaming eSIMs like AIS SIM2Fly will work just fine for travelers in China. Also Chinese companies sell eSIM data plans for multiple countries to outsiders. So WHY are Chinese handset makers and iPhones sold there blocked from including eSIM? It's now 3 years that the GSMA eSIM standard is adopted, what is China afraid of with eSIM technology?

 

[polyphenol]

Just curious. Why SIM-swaps?
Don't you have subscriptions with free use in other countries at the very same cost?

I am living in Denmark and I can use my iPhone, iPad and AppleWatch (e-sim) in 72 countries including USA just like home. Same prise, same features. And the number of countries is growing rapidly.

Right now I can use phone and data in:

Spoiler: Countries

• Albania
• Virgin Islands
• Andorra
• Argentina
• Australia
• Azors
• Belgium
• Bosnien-Hercegovina
• Brazil
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Chile
• Cypres
• Dubai
• England
• Estonia
• Finland
• UAE
• France
• French Guyana
• Faroe Islands
• Gibraltar
• Greece
• Guadeloupe
• Holland
• Hongkong
• Indonesia
• Ireland
• Iceland
• Isle of Man
• Israel
• Italy
• Canary Islands
• China
• Kosovo
• Croatia
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Macao
• Malaysia
• Malta
• Martinique
• Mexico
• Montenegro
• New Zealand
• Northern Ireland
• North Makedonia
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Puerto Rico
• Rumania
• Russia
• San Marino
• Schweiz
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Scotland
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sri Lanka
• Sweden
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Chechia
• Tyrkey
• Germany
• Hungary
• USA
• Vietnam
• Wales
• Austria

Four of those countries are actually the constituent nations of the United Kingdom.

Brexit means that some carriers now impose a charge of some sort for UK phones used in the EU. (I haven't travelled, and therefore haven't needed it. So I have no first-hand experience.) A brief look suggests there are differences between carriers, and it will depend on the type of contract, etc.

Maybe your carrier will continue to allow your use in the UK, but I wouldn't bank on it.

 

[M3gatron]

But I agree with you, a lot of countries do not have that. In Germany, it is the same stupid thing as that. You can only get e-sim on contract. But SIMless iPhone would change it in no time.

I doubt it.

 

[Deguello]

You keep moving the goalposts.
For *MY* use cases, eSIM is fine. If you want to complain, at least make sure your complaint clarifies EXACTLY what you are after.
For most of us (certainly me) *ALL* I care about when traveling is data. I don't care about a local number.
Even for many of the use cases you describe, as long as your friends have whatsapp or wechat or whatever, problem is solved, doesn't matter that your nominal number is a US number.
You're shrinking the pool of issues to some tiny fraction of visitors who need to communicate with others who are so poor that they cannot afford even a basic (wechat/whatapp/viber-ready) phone, or have to communicate with landlines.

I don’t purport to speak for you, or for most people, but I need a local phone number when I’m getting a SIM in another country. I’m calling for reservations or taxis or to meet up with people I’ve met or whatever. I’m not interested in giving everyone I come across my WhatsApp contact info.

Data is fine for keeping up with people back home, but it’s insufficient for me. On top of that, though, some carriers allow free calls to others on their service, so I often have two physical SIMs I swap out. Doing that would almost certainly be a whip with only eSIMs. I get that that‘s an edge case, but it would probably mean i have to hang on to an old phone to use for travel, which brings its own issues.

 

[lartola]

They only sell it in China... a market where 5 million iPhone 13s were preordered on the first day and many websites crashed (including those that handle billions of dollars in sales on 11/11 flawlessly). Being difficult to make does not make something "rare".

There are multiple 10s of millions of these "rare" dual sim models floating around. The dual-SIM models are also sold in HK and Macao, two markets without the same rules...

It is still more difficult to get one of those dual sim iphones outside China, HK and Macau than to get the regular non dual sim model. Apple and its mainstream resellers don’t carry those elsewhere. You’d have to look in Ali Express, ebay or something like that. That would make a dual sim iphone rare to see in the US, for example, where apple and the carriers and premium resellers only carry the non-dual sim model.

 

[wd4fsu]

Either they will go out of business if it’s a matter of principle for them to be physical SIM only, or they will finally put money in the business and bring it on par with others and be compatible with eSIMs.

???? FirstNet already supports eSIM. It’s not currently primary, but they certainly support it. https://www.firstnet.com/content/dam/firstnet/white-papers/firstnet-sim-card-activation-apple.pdf

 

[UnusedLoginID]

It's a curious mystery why China has suppressed ( Huawei P40 has some eSIM support ) eSIM? Note that roaming eSIMs like AIS SIM2Fly will work just fine for travelers in China. Also Chinese companies sell eSIM data plans for multiple countries to outsiders. So WHY are Chinese handset makers and iPhones sold there blocked from including eSIM? It's now 3 years that the GSMA eSIM standard is adopted, what is China afraid of with eSIM technology?

It’s about control! China does not like technology that removes their control on people. See article here about what happened to the Apple Watch embedded SIM

China cuts LTE access to Apple Watch Series 3, reputedly over government security concerns - 9to5Mac

China has abruptly terminated LTE access for the Apple Watch Series 3 without explanation. With all three major carriers in...

9to5mac.com

 

[kvnkvnkvn]

This will suck for all of the various prepaid phone companies around the planet, plus I would be most of the 197 countries dont support E-sim.

As for the USA until Tracfone supports E-sim its a no go for the prepaid sector. At&T, Mint, T-Mobile, Red Pocket etc dont matter Tracfone is the largest prepaid carrier in the USA their the one that matters not the rest.

 

[kvnkvnkvn]

It is still more difficult to get one of those dual sim iphones outside China, HK and Macau than to get the regular non dual sim model. Apple and its mainstream resellers don’t carry those elsewhere. You’d have to look in Ali Express, ebay or something like that. That would make a dual sim iphone rare to see in the US, for example, where apple and the carriers and premium resellers only carry the non-dual sim model.

It sure I was looking all over the place cause I wanted to buy one while living in the USA as I use prepaid carriers that dont support e-sim

 

[orthorim]

eSim as it is is very badly supported, and the standard has some build in garbage - perhaps to appease carriers.

If eSim was widely supported and guaranteed to be portable, meaning I can simply move my eSim from one phone to another without asking the carrier's permission, or Apple's permission, or the Government's permission - then it would be pretty good.

Single slab of glass makes sense, it's going that way.

iPhone eSim only would force all carriers world-wide to update their software and systems for full eSim support.

So the only remaining issue I think is to make it swappable. It should be like a crypto wallet key. I have total control.

I also want to see the Apple satellite network and mobile phone service. Tesla phone may be coming... and then...

 

[orthorim]

Summary

Two reasons why eSim sucks:
1 - barely any carrier support. An eSim only iPhone would change this inside a few months.
2 - Portability. I am unable to move my eSim from my iPhone XS to my 13 pro - I have to go to the carrier's office to ask them. This is a nightmare, and really not in the interest of myself, or the carrier. sim must be portable. Apple probably _could_ solve this by making the standard portable. Whether they will - who knows. Apple seems to be real cozy with the carrier monopolies.

PS: And why I didn't go to the carrier, it's in another country and I can't go just now.

 

[johnnytravels]

Once this becomes the norm, it will also make all the ‘back of the desk drawer’-phones kept for emergencies obsolete unless they also support the eSIM (i.e. iPhone XS and later).

 

[AussieStu]

So how does that work exactly? I travel now and then in remote parts of Australia. I use Optus which is great in my local area but when I travel to remote areas I need a prepaid Telstra sim card to swap. So how do I travel with this eSim thing?

 

[RAFbombhead]

A couple of things to add here:

- Apple already supports Dual-eSIM in the iPhone 13. You don’t need a physical SIM at all. You can either have a Nano-SIM + eSIM or 2 eSIMs.

- People complaining “my carrier doesn’t support this”. They will if Apple implement it. They won’t want to lose out on potential revenue from a massive market. Especially in the US where iPhone is the dominant handset.

- In my experience to a few countries, pre-pay tourist eSIMs have been offered. You pay, they print off a QR code which you scan and it even says “[NETWORK] PrePay 30 days eSIM” and it deactivates after the time period or when you change it for something else. It’s actually easier than swapping a SIM! I’ve seen this offered at airports in Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, UAE and Kuwait, to name a few from the top of my head.

- People are saying how hard it is to swap between home and an abroad SIM. The beauty of this is that you don’t have to swap, you keep your home network on eSIM1 and use eSIM2 to roam. You can set your home eSIM to not roam or temporarily switch it off.

If you so happen to need 3 SIMs at the same time, then you already have a problem now, nothing changes.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

There’s a lot of potential issues with e-SIM only.
- Transferring a phone number or removing the service when you don’t have the older phone or it’s not working. Apple needs to work on this immediately. Basically the number should activate/deactivate when you log in with your AppleID which brings the issue that…
- activating a phone number on e-SIM requires the carrier intervention. What if you don’t have access to a working phone to call them or access to wifi. Apple also needs to work on a program where they can activate an EXISTING phone instead of being limited to activation during the purchase process (online or in-store) of a new phone. Having to return the phone during its return policy and repurchase the same phone with activation is plain silly!
- there are still third-party carriers who don’t support e-SIM. The list on Apple’s web site is still very limited

Find wireless carriers and worldwide service providers that offer eSIM service on iPhone - Apple Support

An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows you to activate a mobile data plan from your network provider without having to use a physical nano-SIM. Find out which wireless carriers in your country or region offer cellular plans on an eSIM, either activated by eSIM Carrier Activation, eSIM Quick...

support.apple.com

My opinion: that rumor is just that… a rumor! Not going to happen any time soon

Carriers would REALLY have to trust Apple's security, cause scammers will try to get a hold on one's number to bypass 2 factor verification and password changes. And it's the carriers the would get sued.

 

[Brien]

Haven't gone through all 6 pages of this thread, so maybe someone noted this already: this could be the harbinger of a completely sealed phone. The SIM slot is one more point to remove to achieve this. So perhaps one of the iPhone 14 models will feature the completely sealed approach.

MagSafe only, no mute, touch sensitive areas for volume/power, and earpiece behind the glass/tranduced through it… all possible. Ive’s all-glass iPhone could happen.