iPhone 14 Pro Max Teardown Provides Closer Look at Unused SIM Tray Area on U.S. Model and More

[Davelfc]

The answer has been mentioned a few times, while everyone else but the USA is using a physical SIM card Apple cannot put anything here, because then they would have a US IPhone with some tech/battery etc and a worldwide iPhone without that tech/battery etc.
Next year I’d imagine it will be utilised as they will either go full esim or have to backtrack.

 

[r.d]

Canadian 14 Pro Max. 🇨🇦

 

[lazyrighteye]

Apple wants to get everyone used to no SIM so they have to rip the bandaid off. Eventually they will use the space but they can’t now due to the global models using SIM. AT&T and other carriers don’t really care, they just support the iPhone. If anything the carriers should want you to keep a physical SIM because it’s harder to change providers with a physical SIM, you have to go to a store or have a SIM mailed to you but you can sign up for eSIMs online/in an app.

Ah, good insight. Thanks.

 

[lazyrighteye]

View attachment 2073251

Canadian 14 Pro Max. 🇨🇦

Great shot! Reminds me how much more I like Space Black vs. Gray.
Enjoy the new device.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Great for you!
Here in the UK…
EE
O2
Vodafone
Virgin Mobile
BT (But only if you are a business user)

None of the above available as Pay As You Go either.

That's unfortunate, but also the reason non-U.S. markets have the other SKU. Hopefully the 14 will be a much-needed push for the carriers that are still dragging their feet.

 

[MayaUser]

The answer has been mentioned a few times, while everyone else but the USA is using a physical SIM card Apple cannot put anything here, because then they would have a US IPhone with some tech/battery etc and a worldwide iPhone without that tech/battery etc.
Next year I’d imagine it will be utilised as they will either go full esim or have to backtrack.

Exactly, people dont realise this and plus a production extra costs for Apple to have 2 line of assembly for the same model

 

[B-Mc-C]

Removing SIM tray on US models is an absolute BONEHEAD move by Apple.
I frequently travel to countries where eSIM is NOT available, especially for shorter term, pre-paid plans.
And as many others have commented here and on other forums, activating eSIM here in the US is still problematic.

Had Apple used the space for something else that would partly justify the removal. But as it is, even though I am on the iPhone Upgrade Program and eligible for the 14 Pro, I am unable to upgrade as I need the SIM tray.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

eSIM likely WILL be available when you travel going forward, BECAUSE of Apple’s decision to remove it. The carriers have no choice but to adapt.

 

[JoshNori]

Irritating. My carrier doesn’t support eSIM. So they basically are using this maneuvering to try to force adoption. By doing so, they’ve just placed money into the pockets of AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon monopolistic market and cut out the majority of MVNOs who these carriers likely don’t offer eSIM to. I smell a class action lawsuit coming if any MVNO can show that the network carriers are introducing any type of eSIM provisioning hurdles for unjust enrichment.

 

[Bobcat32]

The subset of people who travel internationally and who need “the physical sim” are the ones who are going to be crying the loudest are are LITERALLY a small fraction of the entirety of phone users. You can always get another phone and frankly you should anyways if that is your line of work. e-sim is the future and literally like the headphone jack, this was the right move by apple. Carriers need to stop dragging their feet with this stuff anyways. The unused space can now be used for something good like battery. As it seems to me now days ALL smartphones have plateaued at 5000mah and are showing no sign of every increasing ever again. Sim actually takes up a LOT of space in the smartphone picture. So YES! I welcome 1000% it’s removal <3

 

[azentropy]

What a waste. Again I'm fine with Apple removing it especially for the carrier versions, but they should have had included it in the unlocked versions (like they do for overseas).

 

[B-Mc-C]

I don't care if the spot is empty inside, but I would prefer they then have no opening at all on the side rather than seal up the hole like it is now. I guess it'd be too expensive for them to make a special version for esim only phones.

There is no opening on the side. The sealed up hole you are talking about is the 5G mmWave window and was there on the last model as well. The SIM card tray was on the other side.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I would say no since it only has two pegs to mate with the six holes on the board. The color and quality of the spacer shouts cheapest possible quality.

Just curious, what color would you prefer for a plastic spacer that is never meant to see the light of day, in order to send the message that it's high quality?

 

[MacRumorUser78]

Odd decision to remove but not utilize the space, especially since it limits carrier choice in many instances - including in the US as many prepaid and MVNO carriers do not yet support eSim (and can’t until the Big 3 allow them to since most run on their networks).

I still wonder if the Big 3 carriers influenced this change to limit competition and create friction for switching to other carriers (among other things, this disables hardware-based unlocks such as rSim, though those are admittedly sketchy in their own right).

The SIM tray is on its way out. In a couple of years no iPhones will have it. A feature for what 0.0001% of users.

Maybe they can put in a VGA connector in its place!

 

[SoldOnApple]

Use the space to embed the cameras deeper into the phone body.

 

[I7guy]

So much for all the people who said getting rid of the SIM tray is a good thing as it would mean extra space for Apple to give us something extra (e.g. features, battery capacity, etc.).

We got something extra alright... a chunk of plastic 🤣

Extra waterproofing 👍

 

[DeftwillP]

Some of you posters are really ridiculous expecting them to make a separate line of models just for eSim areas so that they could squeeze something else into that tiny area. That being said, we need a snappier safari engine.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

And so many people have been saying they used the space for another an mmwave antenna. YOU'RE WRONG! I don't see the need to dump physical SIM chips. The 13PM has both so why not just continue that? So if people travel and want to use their phone with a local provider, is that even possible? I heard they support 2 eSIMs. Is that true?

Does the plastic 'bite block' add to structural stability?

Yes it's true about the dual eSIM support. In fact, dual eSIM has been supported since the 13. When I traveled to eSIM available countries it was such a smooth experience compared to before. There was no need to order a SIM card and have it delivered or buy the overpriced ones at the airport. I could just sign up for a plan with a wifi connection and be ready to go right then and there. I also don't have to worry about thieves removing the SIM if they steal the device.

I don't like that Apple removed the flexibility of a physical SIM but eSIM is definitely the future for both local use and international travel imo.

 

[frou]

Just curious, what color would you prefer for a plastic spacer that is never meant to see the light of day, in order to send the message that it's high quality?

The spacer should be more true to itself and elemental in form

 

[jaytv111]

YMMV…
I have read of providers mailing QR codes to you… other people having to go to a physical store with ID in hand to get ported to an e-sim.

Lots of teething problems right now.

That's the point though, they want to force the market to fix eSIMs. They don't think keeping the physical SIM around will give carriers any incentive to fix eSIMs. If your eSIM sucks but you can just push the customer out the door with a physical SIM then you're not going to fix eSIMs.

They can email QR codes as well, but still the future will be use a carrier app (over wifi) and you get service in like 2 seconds.

 

[btrach144]

Kind of scary that they claim to love the planet yet put a huge chunk of plastic inside it.

Come on Apple, you can do better.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

That isn’t a “plastic square”, it’s the Dynamic Matrix. It makes Safari snappier.

 

[RamGuy]

So much for all the people who said getting rid of the SIM tray is a good thing as it would mean extra space for Apple to give us something extra (e.g. features, battery capacity, etc.).

We got something extra alright... a chunk of plastic 🤣

Why would anyone expect the space to be used for anythig? The phone is still sold around the globe with a SIM tray, it's quite obvious that Apple will keep the manufacturing as identical as possible between markets. This is simply Apple trying to enforce the use of eSIM in phones to be more common so they can make future models eSIM only as the world has adopted and prepared for it.

In my country, no carrier really cares of pushes for eSIM, and we still get the SIM tray, but as a result of Apple moving to no SIM tray in the US many of our carriers are suddenly starting to mention and recommend the use of eSIM and how they are going to adopt Apple's eSIM transfer which no carrier in my country support as of today.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

eSIM likely WILL be available when you travel going forward, BECAUSE of Apple’s decision to remove it. The carriers have no choice but to adapt.

Hope is not a solution.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

Personal flotation device. Cupholder for small, square cups. Tape measure. Emergency sewing kit. Mylar rescue blanket. OLED screen on the back so the selfie-obsessed can use the better cameras. Tiny jumper cables. Itty bitty air fryer (caution, may negatively impact battery life). A water feature. Bento box (the spacer already looks like one). Hand sanitizer. Bear spray.

The list of possible ways to use this space is nearly endless. Come ON, Apple engineers! Show us some real innovation!

 

[jaytv111]

Irritating. My carrier doesn’t support eSIM. So they basically are using this maneuvering to try to force adoption. By doing so, they’ve just placed money into the pockets of AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon monopolistic market and cut out the majority of MVNOs who these carriers likely don’t offer eSIM to. I smell a class action lawsuit coming if any MVNO can show that the network carriers are introducing any type of eSIM provisioning hurdles for unjust enrichment.

If your US carrier doesn't support eSIM today chances are it will support it in the next year. It's already up to 40 US carriers with eSIM support, though many only have QR code activation.

Physical SIM and eSIM have similar activation systems. You have to add a physical SIM to a list of allowed devices to access the network, same as eSIM. So this whole paranoia about locking out MVNOs using eSIMs is fairly unfounded, they can lock out MVNOs with physical SIMs too.