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Apple Hints at iPhone 17 Models Lacking SIM Card Slot in More Countries
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A physical SIM is more flexible for end users for sure. For carriers eSIM is better because it removes a piece of hardware from their supply chain.
I like the instant activation etc, but just last month I had to reset my phone and my eSIM was dead until I got back into the country because it was unable to activate. I know it's totally not representative, but these things do happen.
I like the instant activation etc, but just last month I had to reset my phone and my eSIM was dead until I got back into the country because it was unable to activate. I know it's totally not representative, but these things do happen.
As if Apple made any use of US SIM-free iPhone’s extra space instead of just adding a piece of plastic to where SIM card used to go.
You would still need screws for the most part and of course speaker grills, both of which are holes that can’t be rid of, especially the speaker. Oh and microphone holes. Cameras too. There are still tons of openings that must exist for the phone to function properly.
I would like to know how Apple feels about losing the entire Chinese market because they force the eSIM. IIRC that’s 20% of their global iPhone revenue.
Great if you only travel to select countries. For many others that’s a pure downside.
As long as China doesn’t allow eSIM, Apple will never be able to physically use sim cards tray space for anything truely meaningful aside from maybe teeny tiny bit of extra battery life.
No matter how technology progresses you need a hole to allow microphone to function, and big holes so camera can take good pictures, speaker holes to play back sound. Granted those holes can be designed to be waterproof but you can’t get rid of those holes unless you would need to wear AirPods every single second you use your phone or there will be no sound and no microphone. Oh and screw holes too.
Plus physical SIM card slots pick up signals faster and more reliable than eSIM. I mean much faster and noticeably more reliable, especially in fringe areas.
ESIM comes with upsides for sure but it also has its own downsides. The inability to install eSIM without wifi is a very big one and something I don’t think Apple can overcome or even care the slightest. I travel to China fairly often and their wifi is behind that “wall”. If for some reason I need to reset my iPhone while in China, I could end up having no way to use my iPhone after reset until I return to Australia. That thing already happened last time I went there but thankfully physical SIM saved the day.
Funnily, we know exactly how apple feel.
They capitulate and release a dual physical sim version for the chinese market.
To be fair there's cases where it's a hindrance too; like if you're on holiday in another country and your phone gets pickpocketted with a physical sim in it.
But regardless, i prefer to have the flexibility of both options. Been working fine for me so far.
Tim Crook is at it again, trying to cut corners in any way he can in order to keep on maximizing profits.
fair point that someone else made. That is a scenario I can easily see happening that I had not considered.
Excellent points. I also had no idea there was a difference in signal quality between the two. Is that anecdotally ? I'm quite surprised. I would have assumed either the same or esim being faster because fully integrated. I'll certainly keep my 13 mini just in case.
Philly
PS: We all at times complain about forums and some conversations/threads can be tedious. BUT these posts are the reason I enjoy macrumors forums. Learn something every day.
All the while only using the same SIM slots existed on other markets supporting only 1 physical SIM! China’s dual SIM just got inserted back to back in that single slot. Why on earth other parts of the world unable to enjoy such small yet notable engineering marvel is truly beyond me.
Stupid move. I hate how everything is going digital. I want to be able to control the phone, not the phone control me. Same with these stupid built-in batteries. What ever happened to the good old days where you can swap out batteries easily.
I hope this only applies to the rumoured "Air" model. eSIM switching between phones is still a huge mess.
Yes I have used E sim while travelling, it comes in handy but there are places where you get good offers and a normal sim card turns out to be cheaper than an esim, for example when I had gone to Poland, I got a sim for 5 euros with 100gb data which worked all over Europe (except for Cyprus)
In Albania I got a sim for 8 euros which gave me 40gb in all the balkan countries and 10gb in other european countries.
When I had gone to Conarky, buying the esim before was pretty expensive for the data which was being provided, whereas the local sim gave a good price, over there they did not even know what E sim was.
I got an Esim before going to Alaska and it did not even work there, I went to a local store to get a sim and asked for an Esim but they said as I am tourist it will have problems in activating it, so well I got the normal sim card.
It is good that I have a phone in which I can put a normal sim card.
I knew it was the right decision to buy a new case for my 15 Pro instead of a new Pro next week ;-)
I agree, other than an egress for water, if you don't use that space for more battery (would that even actually really be noticeable for that small space?) . I prefer eSims but I've now read of different scenarios where having a sim option might be crucial.
If we just leave a dummy plastic what is the true harm?
Carriers need to adapt. They have been dragging their feet for years on this, which in turn makes end users/customers resentful towards Apple instead of their carrier. Most people don't like switching carrier because it's a pain - time to start complaining en masse to see if they change their ways.
The only reasonable barrier is if a government doesn't allow it, like China.
The only reasonable barrier is if a government doesn't allow it, like China.
I sincerely hope EU will slap them in the face and tell them NO. E-sims are garbage compared to the ease of use of an actual SIM card. If you travel somewhere e-sims are always way more expensive, than just a local sim you can buy, and in many regions e-sims are extremely limited in the plans that you can select.
If Apple completely ditches SIM cards I won't buy their phones anymore, it's that serious.
Also, nano-sim is tiny, it doesn't really any waste, and I'm tired of Apple trying to remove things that are actually useful and necessary for phones!
Even now that they've eliminated physical SIMs from US phones they literally just have a plastic placeholder in that place, instead of doing anything useful with it. Exactly the same braindead thing they pulled off when they removed 3.5mm jack, and put a plastic crap that did nothing in its place. So screw Apple, EU to the rescue, hopefully!
I'm still using Apple's products, and typing it on my old trusty MacBook Pro 2015, but I loathe the modern Apple, and so I hope EU will force them to sell phones WITH an actual physical SIM card. Just like they forced them to adopt USB-C. Even though Apple found a way to screw their customers even there, by limiting the speeds of non-pro phones with USB-C to the standard of the year 2000, literally, and an abysmal transfer speed of mere 480Mbits/s, 60MB/s, all while USB3 and USB4 exist that can transfer files anywhere from 500MB/s at the slowest, all the way up to 5GB/s, or 100x faster!!!
I hate Tim Cook and the upper ups of Apple, I'd fire them all in a heartbeat and build a new Apple that values actual features and tries to give people the maximum of stuff not the bare minimum!
If Apple completely ditches SIM cards I won't buy their phones anymore, it's that serious.
Also, nano-sim is tiny, it doesn't really any waste, and I'm tired of Apple trying to remove things that are actually useful and necessary for phones!
Even now that they've eliminated physical SIMs from US phones they literally just have a plastic placeholder in that place, instead of doing anything useful with it. Exactly the same braindead thing they pulled off when they removed 3.5mm jack, and put a plastic crap that did nothing in its place. So screw Apple, EU to the rescue, hopefully!
I'm still using Apple's products, and typing it on my old trusty MacBook Pro 2015, but I loathe the modern Apple, and so I hope EU will force them to sell phones WITH an actual physical SIM card. Just like they forced them to adopt USB-C. Even though Apple found a way to screw their customers even there, by limiting the speeds of non-pro phones with USB-C to the standard of the year 2000, literally, and an abysmal transfer speed of mere 480Mbits/s, 60MB/s, all while USB3 and USB4 exist that can transfer files anywhere from 500MB/s at the slowest, all the way up to 5GB/s, or 100x faster!!!
I hate Tim Cook and the upper ups of Apple, I'd fire them all in a heartbeat and build a new Apple that values actual features and tries to give people the maximum of stuff not the bare minimum!
no, they're talking out of their arse - absolutely 100% verifiably untrue that there's a signal difference between physical and esims
Not gonna lie, I kinda like the idea of a portless phone as well, whatever shortcomings it may have.