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iPhone 15 Models Sold Outside U.S. Still Have Physical SIM Card Tray
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You’re both right. No reason to remove the SIM slot other than to further cooperate with the network operator cartel in the United States. Same reason they removed no interest financing unless you buy it through the cartel.
Sad to see them kowtowing to the network operators after years of pushing them forward.
This is one of the big reasons I'll keep my 13 pro max. Between Verizon charging me their blood money when "activating" my phone, and swapping between an Android phone and iPhone regularly, the e-sim only sucks.
Go into a mmWave area and Canadian phone status indicator won’t change, and US phone status indicator will change. Does that help explain?!
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Why. You’ll rarely see mmWave. They’re generally only set up at high congestion temporary events to ease network load. I’ll keep my sim thank you.
See the iPhone 15 models here: https://www.apple.com/iphone/cellular/
From what I undersood, Model A2xxx series are eSIM-only. Model A3xxxx will have a nano-SIM
Same models for Canada, Guam, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, USVI
Model A3101: iPhone 15 Pro
Model A3105: iPhone 15 Pro Max
Model A3089: iPhone 15
Model A3093: iPhone 15 Plus
Ooh yeah
Apple's new iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max models all remain equipped with a physical SIM card tray outside of the United States, as a rumored eSIM-only expansion with the devices failed to materialize.
Tech specs on Apple's website confirm that all four iPhone 15 models remain compatible with nano-SIM cards in countries such as the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Singapore, Turkey, and everywhere else they are sold. In most countries, the devices also continue to support eSIM as well, allowing for dual-SIM functionality with cellular networks.
Apple removed the SIM card tray from all iPhone 14 models in the U.S. last year, forcing customers to use an eSIM, a digital SIM that allows users to activate a cellular plan without having to use a physical nano-SIM card. Apple has a support document with a list of carriers that support eSIM technology around the world.
When the iPhone 14 series launched in the U.S., Apple promoted eSIMs as being more secure than a physical SIM since they cannot be removed from an iPhone that is lost or stolen. Apple added that up to eight eSIMs can be managed in the iPhone's Settings app, eliminating the need to obtain, carry, and swap physical SIM cards while traveling. iPhone 13 and newer models can have two eSIMs active at the same time.
With eSIM availability expanding, the SIM card tray might eventually be removed from iPhones sold outside of the U.S., but for now it lives another year.
Article Link: iPhone 15 Models Sold Outside U.S. Still Have Physical SIM Card Tray
There are other, signifficant differences between US and international models, mainly in the frequency bands supported. So they have to have multiple SKUs anyway.
Apple’s actions lately with regards to carriers vs consumers seems troubling. I feel that the carriers are getting all the rewards instead of customers. Apple killed physical SIM and when they did it they had the three main US carriers setup with an easy eSIM process. Thankfully, MVNOs have done okay. I use Mint and Visible when in the USA. When traveling, I am forced to use my Thailand DTAC service which allows me to get data for far less than US carriers, and I have found it to seem more reliable. Definitely cheaper than US carriers that all want $10-$20 per day of data. While the developed world sometimes has plenty of options, in developing world like SE Asia, Africa and parts of South America, they just aren’t ready for eSIM. When they have eSIM, it’s literally more difficult and far more time consuming than a physical SIM card.
So why would Apple remove the SIM card slot only in the USA, to please the carriers. Why would Apple eliminate me from using their iPhone upgrade annual program, the carriers. Why would Apple eliminate buying an Unlocked iPhone that doesn’t have to connect to Verizon, ATT or T-Mobile, um yeah the carriers. It costs more if you want to buy an iPhone from Apple to use not on the carriers. Have to pay interest now even on Apple Card if want to use anyone but a US top three carrier.
Seems to me these carriers have become truly more important to Apple than us consumers are. I feel that way for sure. The worst thing is slowly taking away options over time. If they just went this route a long time ago, I wouldn’t be so heavily invested in user experience/knowledge and I would feel much happier on another company’s devices.
I think I will send this to Tim Cook. I believe he has only his own missions he cares about and puts $100m in his account annually by making money for Apple. But is that what’s right for us Apple consumers? We deserve more for what we pay. We are the ones that he relies on.
So why would Apple remove the SIM card slot only in the USA, to please the carriers. Why would Apple eliminate me from using their iPhone upgrade annual program, the carriers. Why would Apple eliminate buying an Unlocked iPhone that doesn’t have to connect to Verizon, ATT or T-Mobile, um yeah the carriers. It costs more if you want to buy an iPhone from Apple to use not on the carriers. Have to pay interest now even on Apple Card if want to use anyone but a US top three carrier.
Seems to me these carriers have become truly more important to Apple than us consumers are. I feel that way for sure. The worst thing is slowly taking away options over time. If they just went this route a long time ago, I wouldn’t be so heavily invested in user experience/knowledge and I would feel much happier on another company’s devices.
I think I will send this to Tim Cook. I believe he has only his own missions he cares about and puts $100m in his account annually by making money for Apple. But is that what’s right for us Apple consumers? We deserve more for what we pay. We are the ones that he relies on.
Precisely. It’s not about saving on a sim tray now having to be filled with a plug. It is always and only about additional revenue. It has been diligently calculated and the end users are not the beneficiaries. However reluctantly, here I would be for a mandate to put this provision back. To protect the consumers.
The eSIMs you get from apps like Airalo are data only and even then, in my experience, the data buckets they buy wholesale are routed through places like Poland which makes it difficult to use websites that block out suspicious IPs. Trust me, that's the experience I had in Canada last year, using an Airalo data eSIM which roamed on the Rogers or Telus networks there but all data was routed through eastern Europe. If you need a local phone number, you will need an eSIM from a major carrier. Good luck with that. Very few of the carriers, none in Canada last year, offered eSIMs that could be activated without having to pay a fee for a QR code on a card that you could scan. Super convenient. Thanks Apple!
Why would you need a local number? Well, last year in France I wanted to activate an app for a major grocery store chain there but couldn't do it because you had to have a local phone number from either France, Belgium or one other country which I forget. VoIP numbers are not so easy to get for those countries. Why else would you need a local number? Well, a local business, for instance, is not going to call your U.S. number because it's obviously long distance. Which means our wonderful international roaming plans from T-Mobile are pretty useless for inbound calls.
My experience as well. The Airalo type data only eSIMs are low priority data and routed through weird places that can cause problems for some sites (as in, blocking all access).
Pretty sure the real reason Apple has removed SIM cards from iPhones in the USA is because outside of China (the new leader) the USA is the biggest iPhone market and with that market, stripping away hardware like that results in big savings. They also know that by and large Americans aren't anywhere as near as mobile as Europeans. At the very least, Apple could have made a SIM-card capable phone available on special order or something but you know that ever since Tim Cook took over it's all been about nickel and diming consumers and telling us that "Apple knows best." Just like they whined and complained they just couldn't put a USB-C port on iPhones but lo and behold...that too was really about maximizing profits on Lightning port licenses.
Then I guess you will just have to learn to live with your U.S. iPhone when overseas, right? Or switch platforms so you don't have to contend with evil, incompetent Apple and their hatred of their customers.
Let's see now..... I have my iPhone 14 Pro Max with NO SIM card slot. To be able to make and receive a local call in each African country, all I need to do is purchase a cheap disposable phone for the three days crossing that country, then again at the next border and so on. WTF!!!
I hope my new (purchased in July 2023) iPhone 13 Mini will last five years. By then I will be 83 and perhaps done with International Travel. The Mini currently has Verizon on the eSIM and a United Kingdom O2 SIM card with my number since 2002. The O2 number (Pay as You Go) is my local send and receive calls number with my wife's UK relatives when we are there. It is also required when dealing with my UK bank when verification codes are necessary for account access.
I am back to carrying two phones like before eSIMs existed. One for the USA and one for the UK. Back to the future????
I hope my new (purchased in July 2023) iPhone 13 Mini will last five years. By then I will be 83 and perhaps done with International Travel. The Mini currently has Verizon on the eSIM and a United Kingdom O2 SIM card with my number since 2002. The O2 number (Pay as You Go) is my local send and receive calls number with my wife's UK relatives when we are there. It is also required when dealing with my UK bank when verification codes are necessary for account access.
I am back to carrying two phones like before eSIMs existed. One for the USA and one for the UK. Back to the future????
I carry a Nothing Phone as my SIM card phone. It’s really nice. In all seriousness, I think Apple copied Nothing Phone for the rounded edges with flat sides. Nothing Phones feel great in the hands. I hope iPhone 15 Pro Max feels this good.
I know that Nothing Phone (1) cost me $400, but with Dual physical SIM card trays, it’s truly an international phone for me. Whereas the iPhone isn’t.
My true thought lately has been, buy Nothing Phone (2), and switch to apps that work on Apple iOS/iPadOS and Android. I feel sort of stupid for so many years only wanting to use Apple’s apps and install as few of other apps as possible. It locked me into a system that seems great but has so many caveats that I just wonder if I can use my Mac and iPad and enjoy an iPhone sometimes but rely on the Nothing Phone as it has a physical SIM tray and I can use it anywhere. Now, I travel a lot internationally, and I can just buy an iPhone in Thailand, Japan or Hong Kong. HK would get me the dual SIM tray but no SOS features. Japan and Thailand would get me physical SIM slot and SOS but not the mmWave 5G.
I don’t know the right decision, but I sort of feel like if Tim is going to stay CEO and everyone but the end user is the focus, in the long run I am better off moving out of the ecosystem right now. I would have never thought I would say that or even think it. But now, I just have to rethink it. I want the 15 Pro Max but do I want to rely on Apple who cares more about US carriers and money than it does me the end user who truly decide to create demand for AAPL products and services.
We are all stakeholders, but I believe Tim really only cares about his pocketbook, annual stock grants, social causes, and most importantly the shareholders and board of directors who give him so much money for making them money.
So many times executives make short term decisions that benefit them personally because the company makes more money now. But, I ask everyone is this the best decision for AAPL ten years from now? If people start dropping the iPhone due to carriers being prioritized over US users, it could spell doom. I all ready believe that if not Vision Pro, there will be a pair of glasses we all wear to see what would have been a computer, tablet or phone. And that wearable will be our main point of ability to connect to the Internet.
In my neighborhood, just outside of San Francisco, I'll take full bars of 3G over zero or one bar of 4G LTE and 5G??? Well you can forget about 5G expansion here it seems. Neither T-Mobile (my primary carrier), AT&T or Verizon offer consistent coverage in this neighborhood and even the fact that it's a huge safety concern hasn't moved anyone to pressure them to fix coverage. We are literally just wedged between 101 and the bay. Therefore, I could care less about mmWave or 77.
My problem with eSIM is the developing nations I work in DO NOT allow no contract eSIM service. No way I’m signing a contract in multiple countries and having to pay them every month. Now, if they would allow eSIM month to month no contract, I’d be ok. As for now, eSIM won’t work for my business.
Yep. I have my region set to Australia and everything works normally.