Oh, good. I'm wondering if it also Applies to iTunes & Apple Music as I have over 2,000 songs bought.
And what would happen if I bought AppleCare+ from there as well? Sorry for these questions.
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iPhone 15 Models Sold Outside U.S. Still Have Physical SIM Card Tray
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And what would happen if I bought AppleCare+ from there as well? Sorry for these questions.
I use an Australian iTunes account as well and it works fine. No idea re AppleCare+, but I believe the coverage is worldwide.
Nice. I am in Australia and I use micro Sim card for my current iPhone. This means when my 15 Pro Max arrived, I would just swap it into the new phone with no need to contact service provider whatsoever.
Thanks Apple.
Thanks Apple.
Nice. I am in Australia and I use micro Sim card for my current iPhone. This means when my 15 Pro Max arrived, I would just swap it into the new phone with no need to contact service provider whatsoever.
Thanks Apple.
Rub it in whydontcha!
My colleague just picked up my blue pro max 512 in Taiwan for me. Current exchange rate comes to $1613. It will be hand delivered to me on Monday.
Happy to pay premium for physical SIM card as always.
Anyone want a physical sim 14 promax gold 512 in SF Bay Area?
Happy to pay premium for physical SIM card as always.
Anyone want a physical sim 14 promax gold 512 in SF Bay Area?
I would stick to phones with a physical SIM as long as you can. You have a system that works, it's guaranteed that you would have headaches with e-sim as you travel to multiple far-flung "developing" destinations regularly. E-sim may become unavoidable at some point as many freedom-limiting, profit-maximizing changes at the international corporate level are, but maybe they will be more reliable by then. If I upgrade my 12 Pro Max it will be to a European iPhone model with a physical SIM tray.
You aren't going to find a non-USA iphone for sale in the US at US prices. Someone needs to make money for the hassle of importing one here. Try eBay, also sounds like people have gone to Canada to get one. Best bet would probably asking a friend traveling to Europe to buy one, though they're up to $500 more expensive than in the US. I'd get the US 13 Pro Max while you still can with the physical sim slot.
Apple is heavily reliant on recurring revenue from iPhones sold through US carriers. It's almost certainly their most consistent source of profits. The pennies Apple saves on a physical sim slot is nothing compared to the dollars per customer that the carriers save to streamline their operations into e-sim and lock their customers in to their own walled-gardens. Decisions like this are made years in advance with lengthy negotiations between Apple and carriers around the world. They definitely won't just quietly restore sim trays any more than they will suddenly make MacBook batteries, hard drives and RAM user-replaceable again. Once it's gone, it's gone forever.
As Europe goes, from time to time Apple products may be less expensive than in the US. Currency exchange rate is one factor, the other is an authorized reseller, typically larger electronic chains having a VAT provision for non EU residents and a 100% VAT refund within 3 mont…..the problem of frequencies albeit not yet critical, it may eventually become a factor. This is yet another topic, a problem resulting from the US carriers greed which for now makes i.e. incoming calls by EU (and others) travelers in the US often impossible.…
I just got my new iPhone. Had 3 eSIM on the outgoing phone. Two of them transferred no problem, the third wouldn’t transfer and iOS told me to “visit the carrier”, which just so happens to be on the other side of the planet.
Yeah, eSIM, so much more convenient!
Yeah, eSIM, so much more convenient!
Until you go to Africa or drop your phone in the water in the marina in the Adriatic.
I ordered the 15 Pro but before it was delivered decided this was the the better view before it arrived on the 22nd. I thought I would just figure it out but it looked like it was going to be a hassle to get an e-sim in Pakistan next week (though it exists there on some level), along with some unknown risk about whether it would work properly or economically, and thought it better not to add another point of stress into my life at this moment. I didn't unbox the 15 Pro and I'll bring it back to the Apple Store (if it ever stops raining), and keep my 13 Pro which is working fine though with noticeably declining battery life that is creating it's own annoyances.
Can you explain how the e-sim locks consumers into a "walled garden." I was under the impression that the e-sim - at least where it's available - would make it exceedingly easy to switch carriers, maybe without even visiting a store or waiting for a sim card to arrive? What am I missing?
Right. For example, in Vietnam I get 4GB/day for $6/month on a local SIM card. There’s no plan that even comes close on eSIM. Plus I get a local number too.
Remember you can’t turn off the camera shutter sound on phones bought in Japan. This alone keeps me from buying a phone there.
Disagree.
...
US-bought iPhone (or any), using in Japan (probably region set to Japan) = shutter sound
Japanese-bought iPhone in the USA = no shutter sound
Exactly, this is my point to everyone who thinks oh eSIM is all anyone needs. They don’t travel, or they want to pay carriers more per day than a local SIM costs for a whole month. And like you said, the local phone number sometimes feels magical to have.
What most people don’t even realize is that you can leave your US carrier eSIM line on, put a SIM card in the iPhone, and pick local carrier for data and can select which line want to use when calling/texting locally. That was a great feature Apple gave to us, and I wanted the Hong Kong iPhone for many years due to the real dual SIM card iPhones there. But now they don’t have SOS nor mmWave 5G.
I am traveling back to Thailand in two weeks. I got the eSIM iPhone 15 Pro Max in the USA and am giving it to my wife as soon as I get the SIM card iPhone 15 Pro Max in Thailand. What I don’t like is Apple giving the carriers everything they want and forgetting the real customers. Does Apple believe the carriers or customers are more important? Sure seems like the carriers are where Apple sees the money coming.
I am too hooked on the ecosystem. I want to free myself. This year I am starting to use apps that are available on multiple platforms. It’s difficult, and will be a process to get off Apple; but that is my long-term goal. I don’t like being sold out so Tim can get his $100m in stock grants annually. Don’t get me wrong, if you own AAPL stock, what he’s doing is great for short term gains; but if you’re an Apple customer, what he’s doing is detrimental to the long-term value of the Apple brand. It’s a slippery slope going the path of giving into the carriers for an extra $100 per iPhone.
And for those who don’t travel, and want to be locked into a contract and pay much higher fees, the iPhones sure are a lot cheaper when bought with a carrier agreement.
Again, I rather pay more money for an iPhone than be locked into a bunch of crap. And I am starting to think the land of the free, comes with so many costs that it’s just not worth it. Most people don’t see the ridiculousness of it all.
My wife in I have a home in Washington State and a condo in Thailand. Our Internet service in Thailand costs us less than $20 per month for 500Mbps with no data caps (vs $100 in USA). Our mobile phone plans in Thailand cost us around $16 USD per month (vs $45 in USA). Most costs we figure to be 5x higher in USA due to corporate greed. Electricity costs about the same due to AC necessity in Thailand and not usually on in USA. There are lots of other costs that are just absurd living in WA USA vs Thailand. And our quality of life is comparable in both places. I have previously lived in Japan and Singapore, and those places were both far more expensive than Washington State. Every place has pros and cons, but what I notice most is in the USA all the money goes to companies which care mostly about shareholders. Outside the USA, money goes to improve communities and ensure safety.
This map sums up the situation pretty well; more than half of the world doesn’t have eSIM whatsoever.
I’d like to see a similar map with color coded areas indicating whether a country has 3+ carriers or all carriers supporting eSIM.
I’m still an Apple fan to the death, but the lack of a physical SIM card tray is just a slap in the face to anyone who travels internationally, or even those who don’t but appreciate having the option to do so at any time (family emergency, etc).
Why? Because more choices are good for consumers. Fewer choices are good for (some) companies. I remember back when some iPhone models were touted as a true “world phone”, with compatibility intentionally maximized with carriers across the globe. At present, US iPhone customers are going backwards in that regard.
You're eligible to put items for sale in the Marketplace section of the forum.
It's only a teeny tiny part of the map but according to Apple, there are no eSIMs in Israel. But there apparently are.
best-esim-israel
This map, I believe, is dated 2022. It was published at the US introduction of the simless iPhone 14 last year..yes, sure, Africa is very tiny. It is in fact so small that most Americans think it is a miniature, uninhabited island where the earth is flat. Same goes for Asia and euro-Asia.
Well I followed the link (dated this month) and Israel is not on the list. No worries. I wouldn't stop there if I was searching anyway.
I have to agree with both of you about this. It's insane that Apple are forcing people into eSIM only, & forcing people to pick up international versions of iPhones just for a physical SIM slot.
For instance, I would want the Hong Kong iPhone 15 Pro Max. If I were to pick that up instead of the U.S. iPhone 15 Pro Max, I would lose out on Emergency SOS by Satellite, Roadside Assistance by Satellite, Crash Detection, plus most radio bands that could be important for certain areas that you're traveling in (especially rural areas & dead spot areas).
I would be missing out on the following bands here:
- 5G NR (Bands n14, n29, n53, n70, n71, n75, & n76).
- 5G NR mmWave (Bands n258, n260, & n261).
- FDD-LTE (Bands 14, 29, & 71).
- TD-LTE (Band 53).
iPhone 15 & 15 Pro Max 5G & LTE charts.
And I probably won't be eligible to receive AppleCare+ w/theft & loss in the U.S., either, unless I personally call Apple support for it (& I don't even know if that's true).
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