Apple Announces Updated iPad 10 With eSIM Support in China

[MacRumors]

Apple today announced an updated version of the cellular 10th-generation iPad with eSIM support in mainland China. Apple says the device will be available to pre-order in mainland China starting October 19 and released on October 25.

China Unicom is currently the only supported eSIM carrier for the iPad in mainland China, according to a new Apple support document. eSIM support in mainland China requires a 10th-generation iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular) with model number A3162. All other iPad and iPhone models do not have eSIM support in mainland China.

Apple's support document offers more details on how to set up an eSIM on the updated 10th-generation iPad in mainland China, and how to activate eSIM cellular data plans on the device from carriers in other countries while traveling.

An eSIM is a digital SIM that allows users to activate a cellular plan without having to use a physical nano-SIM card.

(Thanks, Apollo!)

Article Link: Apple Announces Updated iPad 10 With eSIM Support in China

 

[geek36]

so i was wrong about the new colors. it's the esim. lol

 

[vegetassj4]

Perhaps this is what the rumored "11th" generation iPad turned into

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/leaker-claims-new-11th-generation-low-cost-ipad-will-launch-tomorrow.2407782/

 

[matttarantino]

So the other rumors weren't exactly wrong?

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

You know this begs the question why can't the Macbooks get eSIM support? I know a lot of business customers would love cellular on their Macbooks without needing to use a hotspot.

 

[NewUsername]

At least now we know the 11th gen iPad isn’t coming soon.

 

[Anglagard]

Between the Pen-C and this, it all looks terribly underwhelming for Xmas.

 

[Think|Different]

So the rumors were true!

 

[CC77]

What a sad, strange time to be an iPad

 

[bodonnell202]

At least now we know the 11th gen iPad isn’t coming soon.

Yep I think this seals it - they wouldn't bother with a revision to the 10th gen if they were going to replace it with an 11th gen right away. Thought it would at least come with a modest price reduction along with discontinuing the 9th gen though.

 

[goonie4life9]

Now Apple can ramp-up their tutti-fruitti, phoney baloney, plastic banana, good time, rock-n-roll PR about the ALL NEW iPad with eSIM!

 

[t0rqx]

Maybe edit that article of you guys saying the rumours was inaccurate Apple not introducing new iPads.

 

[macdaddy43]

This really shows that we’ve hit a plateau with tech in these products. Apple isn’t even spec bumping these anymore because user experience really is almost the same.

A14 vs A15 in the base iPad isn’t going to change much and just more cost out of switching the internals as such. A15 vs A16 for iPad mini probably isn’t even worth it for Apple either. They’d rather keep the same chips and milk them as long as they can and I don’t really blame them.

I have an iPhone 12 Pro with the A14 and despite it being a 3 year old phone, I have never once even considered that this phone is slow or too slow for anything that I do. I don’t plan on upgrading until software stops getting updated. Seems like chips from A14 and on have been so good there isn’t much difference in overall experience for most people.

 

[t0rqx]

You know this begs the question why can't the Macbooks get eSIM support? I know a lot of business customers would love cellular on their Macbooks without needing to use a hotspot.

They probably have a software fix for that soon. They even are able to fix burn in in OLED on their iPhones with iOS17.1.

 

[CalMin]

You know this begs the question why can't the Macbooks get eSIM support? I know a lot of business customers would love cellular on their Macbooks without needing to use a hotspot.

It's not just an eSim, it would need a cellular radio as well. My guess is that it's just too small a segment of the market who would want to pay extra for this functionality. I have to concede that same argument applies to iPads, so the real answer has to be Apple just doesn't want to...!

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

What a sad, strange time to be an iPad

Tim Cook era Apple has essentially destroyed Steve Jobs' original vision for the iPad especially when they tried (and continue to try) to market it as a laptop replacement, yet it fails in every aspect.

It's pretty depressing as the iPad used to be my favorite Apple thing and the Mac the thing I hated with a passion, but nowadays the roles have reversed. I finally got a Mac in 2021 and used macOS more and more over the iPad, that I barely touch my iPad anymore, preferring to just use my phone instead for any mobile computing. My current iPad is most likely going to be my last iPad

 

[OneBar]

They probably have a software fix for that soon. They even are able to fix burn in in OLED on their iPhones with iOS17.1.

If it can be fixed, it's not burn in. Burn is permanent damage. Image retention is a faulty controller or bugged software, which the latter seems to be the case.

 

[sw1tcher]

Accurate

• Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said there would not be any new iPads released this month, a claim that remains accurate.

3.5 hours later...

Apple Announces Updated iPad 10 With eSIM Support in China

🤣

 

[iZac]

It’s a shame that foreigners in China are forbidden from registering ESIMs

 

[crsh1976]

I'm glad the day is almost over, this crazy slew of iPad announcements today sure exhausted me.

 

[CalMin]

This really shows that we’ve hit a plateau with tech in these products. Apple isn’t even spec bumping these anymore because user experience really is almost the same.

A14 vs A15 in the base iPad isn’t going to change much and just more cost out of switching the internals as such. A15 vs A16 for iPad mini probably isn’t even worth it for Apple either. They’d rather keep the same chips and milk them as long as they can and I don’t really blame them.

I have an iPhone 12 Pro with the A14 and despite it being a 3 year old phone, I have never once even considered that this phone is slow or too slow for anything that I do. I don’t plan on upgrading until software stops getting updated. Seems like chips from A14 and on have been so good there isn’t much difference in overall experience for most people.

I suppose the real issue is that the software hasn't kept pace with the advances in hardware. My 2018 iPad Pro still runs like it was new - it's 5 years old! Ok, so I can't run Final Cut... I don't want to run Final Cut - I have a Mac for that. (Logic is really good on the iPad, so if that didn't run there might be an incentive.)

Still, what more do we want the iPad to do? It's great for content consumption, games, surfing, note-taking, I edit my Podcast with it, I use with my spin bike, etc. None of these require any more CPU/GPU horsepower than we have now. It's a real problem and will lead to slower sales. The applies to Apple silicon Mac for many people - an 8GB base spec. M1 Air is more computer than 90% of people need for regular computing tasks.

 

[klasma]

It's not just an eSim, it would need a cellular radio as well. My guess is that it's just too small a segment of the market who would want to pay extra for this functionality. I have to concede that same argument applies to iPads, so the real answer has to be Apple just doesn't want to...!

Apple sells about twice as many iPads than MacBooks, so that might be a factor.

 

[Nautilus007]

What a sad, strange time to be an iPad

Much like being alive in the world today .

 

[DaPizzaMan]

What a sad, strange time to be an iPad

Why? Not every device needs to be updated every year.

 

[ApostolisApo]

Maybe edit that article of you guys saying the rumours was inaccurate Apple not introducing new iPads.

yeah someone wrote the report card too early