iPhone 11 Pro Never owned a cellular phone - questions.

[choreo]

I have no real need for a smart-"phone" as I work from my home office and am here 23 hour/day. I have never owned a mobile-phone and had the same landline/phone number for 45 years! I have Mac Pros, iPad Pros, MacBook Pros, but no iPhone. The cost of purchasing an iPhone has never been the main issue for me... it is the monthly/annual service contracts. It is hard for me to justify that expense as I have a hard time imagining making more than maybe one phone call a month on it (if that)?

My main justification would be primarily as a camera substitute when I don'y have my DSLR handy (and would be less hassle for "snapshots". So here are my ignorant question which every 10 year old now knows the answer to:

Does the iPhone 11 have any functionality without a contract? (i.e. Can I take RAW photos and transfer them, etc., run apps, etc.). Does it connect with my Macs without a contract?

I am clueless.

 

[clarencek]

Yes it works without a cell plan or SIM card. Just use it on WiFi when you need to connect to a network.
If you had an iPad Pro it’s the same thing assuming you didn’t have a cell plan for that either.

 

[countryside]

I have no real need for a smart-"phone" as I work from my home office and am here 23 hour/day. I have never owned a mobile-phone and had the same landline/phone number for 45 years! I have Mac Pros, iPad Pros, MacBook Pros, but no iPhone. The cost of purchasing an iPhone has never been the main issue for me... it is the monthly/annual service contracts. It is hard for me to justify that expense as I have a hard time imagining making more than maybe one phone call a month on it (if that)?

My main justification would be primarily as a camera substitute when I don'y have my DSLR handy (and would be less hassle for "snapshots". So here are my ignorant question which every 10 year old now knows the answer to:

Does the iPhone 11 have any functionality without a contract? (i.e. Can I take RAW photos and transfer them, etc., run apps, etc.). Does it connect with my Macs without a contract?

I am clueless.

Typically, you can buy the "unlocked" version of an iPhone that does not work with any specific carrier. These used to go for higher prices but I believe they are now the same as a cellular phone that works with Verizon. Similar to having an iPad without cellular.

I also am pretty sure Macs and iPhone's do not use cellular data to connect when wifi and Bluetooth are on, depending on the features you are talking about. For example, Wifi Calling, answering phone calls on mac, etc would not work... But other features such as synced iMessages will work.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

Pardon my joking, but we really should have you bronzed. You're a rarity.

 

[Europa13]

Pardon my joking, but we really should have you bronzed. You're a rarity.

I was thinking the same thing. Also, the avatar did remind me of an ‘80s portrait. Just needed the reflection.

 

[MisterSavage]

Does the iPhone 11 have any functionality without a contract? (i.e. Can I take RAW photos and transfer them, etc., run apps, etc.). Does it connect with my Macs without a contract?

Yes and yes. If you're not on wifi some of your apps might not function properly without connectivity but that won't prevent you from taking photos. With that being said that seems like a ton of cash to drop on a phone without using cellular. The camera won't be remotely as good but an iPod Touch might fit the bill.

 

[MyMacintosh]

as I work from my home office and am here 23 hour/day.

We’re working on prison reform. Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of there soon enough! Solitary confinement is unethical.

 

[hellopupy]

There are pre-paid plans you can use on and off whenever you please.

T-mobile is one example, there are also many others not named ATT/Verizon.

 

[choreo]

Pardon my joking, but we really should have you bronzed. You're a rarity.

I knew that was coming!

I thought I was the last holdout, but when I met with my CPA yesterday both he and his client that was leaving his office nether had ever had a Cellphone, Facebook, Twitter, etc. - and they are 10 years younger than me!

I have made my living on Apple computers for over 30 years as a designer - once I finally get free for an hour and head for the gym, the last thing I want is a way for my clients to get in touch with me! Besides, when I do get to the gym, I have to kick all the mannequins off the machines that apparently died in a seated position staring at their iPhones as it is!

 

[EugW]

I might suggest getting an older iPhone, something like an iPhone 7 Plus or something for cheap and seeing how you like it. No need to spend $$$$ on the latest and greatest.

Do you have any friends/family/acquaintances that you might try to correspond with via iMessage for example? You can do that via WiFi. And it will make for a decent camera, much better than the iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 6s. Also better than the iPhone 7 because the 7 Plus has Portrait Mode and a 2X "telephoto" lens. Also works great as a music player on the road.

Or if you want the best camera, you'll probably have to shell out and spend that $$$$ to get the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

BTW, I have three dSLRs and a whole bunch of lenses, and 99.9% of the time my pictures are taken with my iPhone. About the only thing I do these days on the dSLR are to take short telephoto portrait shots. Portrait mode on the iPhones is cool, but if you know what to look for, it can look fake. If you want proper short depth-of-field and nice bokeh, you need the proper lenses for this, which no cell phone can provide.

 

[Shirasaki]

I know this sounds crazy. But you can buy an unlocked iPhone directly from Apple, and use a random SIM card (even the one picked up from the trash bin) and activate. After that, the SIM card is no longer needed, and you can use iPhone the way you use iPad most of the time with WiFi.

 

[countryside]

I might suggest getting an older iPhone, something like an iPhone 7 Plus or something for cheap and seeing how you like it. No need to spend $$$$ on the latest and greatest.

Do you have any friends/family/acquaintances that you might try to correspond with via iMessage for example? You can do that via WiFi. And it will make for a decent camera, much better than the iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 6s. Also better than the iPhone 7 because the 7 Plus has Portrait Mode and a 2X "telephoto" lens. Also works great as a music player on the road.

Or if you want the best camera, you'll probably have to shell out and spend that $$$$ to get the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

BTW, I have three dSLRs and a whole bunch of lenses, and 99.9% of the time my pictures are taken with my iPhone. About the only thing I do these days on the dSLR are to take short telephoto portrait shots. Portrait mode on the iPhones is cool, but if you know what to look for, it can look fake. If you want proper short depth-of-field and nice bokeh, you need the proper lenses for this, which no cell phone can provide.

In my opinion, he should consider a phone that is newer than iPhone 7... Camera's have improved a lot since.

 

[Shirasaki]

In my opinion, he should consider a phone that is newer than iPhone 7... Camera's have improved a lot since.

But for his need, I think a good camera is not that important. SoC or smartphone performance may be a bit more of an issue for iPhone 7 even though it is plenty fast for many of us.