Apple SIM Cellular Data Plans Now Available in Over 90 Countries

[MacRumors]

Apple has reached a partnership with mobile connectivity company GigSky to expand Apple SIM cellular data plans to over 90 countries and territories around the world. iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 users that have Apple SIM installed can now purchase short-term data plans while traveling in a long list of countries throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, South America and other regions worldwide.

Apple SIM is now available for purchase at Apple Retail Stores in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Apple SIM cellular data plans were previously limited to participating carriers in the United States and United Kingdom, including AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile in the U.S. and EE in the U.K.

"With Apple SIM in iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 with Wi-Fi + Cellular models, you get the convenience of choosing a cellular data plan from select carrier partners right on your iPad. And when you travel abroad, Apple SIM gives you the added flexibility to stay connected in more than 90 countries and territories around the world. So when you reach your destination and want to check your email, find directions, or send a message back home, you can purchase a cellular data plan for the duration of your trip -- whether it's a day, a week, or a month."

GigSky cellular data plans are available on a pay-as-you-go basis with no long-term commitments. Exact prices are listed on GigSky's website and vary based based on the country, data amount and length of plan. Given that iPads are unlocked, travelers can also insert a SIM card belonging to a local carrier if preferred.

Apple has posted a full list of countries with Apple SIM coverage on its website.

Article Link: Apple SIM Cellular Data Plans Now Available in Over 90 Countries

 

[dlewis23]

This in the iPhone would be awesome.

 

[lincolntran]

The beginning of Apple cellular network

 

[BeefCake 15]

This in the iPhone would be awesome.

Yeah good luck penetrating that market. Verizon, ATT and Sprint will never do a deal with Apple on this...

 

[spentan]

This in the iPhone would be awesome.

This is an interesting concept, but I'm happier with my unlimited Data/SMS Roaming with T-Mobile. Even if it is speed-limited.

 

[Rigby]

Nice. More convenient than hunting down a local SIM. After checking a few European countries, the prices seem to be a bit on the high side though.

 

[commodorepet]

No Japan

 

[apparatchik]

If I buy an Apple SIM and insert it on my unlocked iPhone? would it work? Its clear these are data plans only, but when you're travelling abroad your most of the time resorting to data for calls and messages (skype, whatsapp, softphone, etc.) anyway.

Maybe someone can try to activate a plan with Apple SIM on an iPad and the insert it on an unlocked iPhone... the fares are great in some destinations...

 

[yg17]

Those plan prices are a ripoff compared to what you'd pay if you just got a SIM from a local carrier at the airport.

 

[CmdrPuffin]

It's a pretty cool system but it's really overpriced compared to just getting a sim directly from a local carrier. Looking at the UK plans it's $25 for 400MB with GigSky. If you just get a pay as you go SIM directly from Three you can get 10GB for £15/~$24. I'm sure the other countries are pretty much the same.

Handy for convenience I guess but I'd love it if Apple just opened the AppleSIM up to local carriers worldwide so we could get the best possible prices when we travel without having to juggle a bunch of nanoSIMs.

 

[McScooby]

Way, way, way too expensive, & I thought my carrier roaming fees were too much out of tariff!

 

[yg17]

It's a pretty cool system but it's really overpriced compared to just getting a sim directly from a local carrier. Looking at the UK plans it's $25 for 400MB with GigSky. If you just get a pay as you go SIM directly from Three you can get 10GB for £15/~$24. I'm sure the other countries are pretty much the same.

Handy for convenience I guess but I'd love it if Apple just opened the AppleSIM up to local carriers worldwide so we could get the best possible prices when we travel without having to juggle a bunch of nanoSIMs.

Yeah, it's pretty expensive. Looked at New Zealand since I'm going there soon. GigSky is $50 USD for 500 MB. Spark NZ (local carrier) is $10 USD for 500 MB.

Haven't looked at any other countries yet. But this thing is a ripoff.

 

[katbel]

Did you look at the prices?! Not competitive at all!
I'm Canadian and when I go to the States I pay 25$ for 1 gb per 3 months
Gigsky charges 50$ for 1 month
In Europe with 3 TRE ( England and Italy) I pay 5 Euros for 1 GB per month.
Gigsky charges 10 $ for 3 days and 75 mb in Italy

BTW just today there is a good news about Europe going to end roaming charges in 2017.
From April 2016, telecoms operators will be able to add a surcharge of no more than:

• €0.05 (3.5p) extra per minute for calls
• €0.02 extra per SMS sent
• €0.05 extra per megabyte of data used

The cap would make roaming within the EU 75% cheaper during the interim period, the European Commission said.

When are we going to have something similar in North America?

 

[katbel]

Yeah, it's pretty expensive. Looked at New Zealand since I'm going there soon. GigSky is $50 USD for 500 MB. Spark NZ (local carrier) is $10 USD for 500 MB.

Haven't looked at any other countries yet. But this thing is a ripoff.

Agree! It's a ripoff and I didn't count the cost of the Apple sim: do you know how much is it?

 

[robogobo]

Those prices are horrible. They're across the board double the rates of getting a local SIM in every place I regularly travel to. And they're only slightly cheaper than just roaming with my local provider. I'll pass.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Tried to use it in London recently but no-go w/ EE. Either I was doing something wrong or it would not activate with a U.S. CC#.

 

[Daveoc64]

This in the iPhone would be awesome.

The reason that this is a viable option on an iPad is that you don't care about the phone number associated with an iPad.

You can change carrier (and therefore number) on a whim and it doesn't really make any difference to you.

That would be massively inconvenient on a phone.

The prices here are very poor though. Its only real advantage is convenience.

 

[ginkobiloba]

wow yeah.. those prices are ridiculously expensive. You can get far better deals in most Europe/North-America countries for iPad data plan with no long-term commitment ( I know in Canada you can get 5GB a month for 40$ with Bell , with a special iPad short-term plan ).
The Apple Sim is really for urgent last-minute needs of a few megabytes of email data..

 

[ck2875]

One issue is that AT&T locks the Apple Sim to their network if you activate with them and thereafter you can't change it to another network. Yay AT&T.

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/10/24/att-apple-sim/

 

[Rigby]

Tried to use it in London recently but no-go w/ EE. Either I was doing something wrong or it would not activate with a U.S. CC#.

This is unfortunately quite common with local SIMs too. In many countries you need a local billing address to activate a plan.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Did you look at the prices?! Not competitive at all!
I'm Canadian and when I go to the States I pay 25$ for 1 gb per 3 months
Gigsky charges 50$ for 1 month
In Europe with 3 TRE ( England and Italy) I pay 5 Euros for 1 GB per month.
Gigsky charges 10 $ for 3 days and 75 mb in Italy

BTW just today there is a good news about Europe going to end roaming charges in 2017.
From April 2016, telecoms operators will be able to add a surcharge of no more than:

• €0.05 (3.5p) extra per minute for calls
• €0.02 extra per SMS sent
• €0.05 extra per megabyte of data used

The cap would make roaming within the EU 75% cheaper during the interim period, the European Commission said.

When are we going to have something similar in North America?

Neat, but I've never once left the area that was covered by AT&T but covered by someone else, so roaming has never come up for me in the States. I think most people in the States have had the exact same experience, so we don't really consider roaming to be a particular problem 99.9% of the time.

 

[rmbpuser]

thats new, interesting prices

 

[lazard]

Too expensive. Why bother when you can get a local sim for a fraction of the price.

 

[realeric]

"available" for $$$$$

 

[yg17]

Neat, but I've never once left the area that was covered by AT&T but covered by someone else, so roaming has never come up for me in the States. I think most people in the States have had the exact same experience, so we don't really consider roaming to be a particular problem 99.9% of the time.

This SIM card isn't for people who stay in their country. It's for people who travel internationally (and are too stupid/lazy/rich to bother researching the much cheaper alternatives out there).