Ah I see. Okay. I wasn't aware about the AT&T or T-mo iPads. Well good that Apple fixed that. iPads should've never carrier specific from the get go.
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New Cellular iPads Include 'Apple SIM' in U.S. and U.K. for Multi-Carrier Compatibility
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Ah I see. Okay. I wasn't aware about the AT&T or T-mo iPads. Well good that Apple fixed that. iPads should've never carrier specific from the get go.
I do believe that all models contain the GPS chip
No, only the cellular models have the GPS chip. Non-cellular models use WiFi triangulation.
So I can just take the SIM card out of my Verizon Mini that I'm going to sell, and pop it in the iPad Air 2 and then set it up online? Somebody correct me if I'm wrong here, but I don't see the big deal about that, unless you had to go get a card from Verizon.
Apple tried once before - basically simless/virtual sim built in, carriers nixed it. Didn't want it in a mass deployed phone.
Size? Or maybe the carriers.
Easy. I work in a restaurant that delivers. I have customers that seem to keep their phone numbers for no more than a month or two.
T-Mobile's free data combined with a cheap auto-renew plan from another carrier would make use of this.
Since I use my mobile for two factor authentication, I would rather keep the security that the SIM offers.
In terms of Apple devices... they have since the iPhone 4S.
Traditionally CDMA didn't use SIM cards. But LTE is derived from GSM technology, and uses SIM cards. All Verizon LTE devices have them.
(That makes it sort of interesting that the Verizon 4S had a SIM card, since it didn't support LTE. CDMA/EVDO apparently can use a SIM card, but it's not required.)
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The Apple SIM is still a SIM. The scenario you describe is an edge case, but if you foresee it being something you'll encounter, you can still go to AT&T or T-Mobile and get a carrier-specific SIM (and just toss the Apple SIM in a drawer). *And*, you'll still be able to access all four major US networks on a single device, which has never been possible before.
I have a 4th gen Verizon iPad that was rolled out with a SIM card that you were supposed to be able to activate monthly service on-demand with no activation fees. Turn it on while traveling, turn it off when you got back home, that sort of thing.
Unfortunately, after some number of months of inactivity they turned off those SIM cards on their end, at which point you'd have to go to a Verizon store to get a regular tablet SIM card on a regular plan.
I imagine these shenanigans are something similar. Verizon doesn't want any part of on-again-off-again data plans...
Unfortunately, after some number of months of inactivity they turned off those SIM cards on their end, at which point you'd have to go to a Verizon store to get a regular tablet SIM card on a regular plan.
I imagine these shenanigans are something similar. Verizon doesn't want any part of on-again-off-again data plans...
It not draining your phone's battery is a big benefit.
Depending on your data use across devices it can work out cheaper to buy them separately than upgrading your phone tariff with sufficient data would cost.
For my iPad I buy whatever pay-as-you-go Data SIMs are on offer,. This also has the benefit that I can pick and choose from any network and not just the one my phone contract is with.
By having my phone and tablet on different networks I find when travelling there are often times I can get a signal on one and not the other. Which with O2s Tu Go app means I have a phone connection via a rival network.
And personally, I am on a grandfathered O2 unlimited iPhone tariff but it does not allow tethering. So keeping them separate works out cheaper through data SIM deals works out far cheaper than a new phone tariff would.
Based on my recent experience, I'm guessing you would have to stop into a Verizon store to get a new SIM to add your new iPad Air 2 to your existing monthly dataplan -- for an extra $10/month per tablet. No idea if there is an activation fee.
What I do know is that, when it comes to phones, Verizon doesn't like to allow "non-Verizon" MEIDs/ESNs on their network. Unfortunately for them, Apple isn't making separate cellular iPad models for different carriers anymore. I guess in this case, it sucks to be Verizon.
What I do know is that, when it comes to phones, Verizon doesn't like to allow "non-Verizon" MEIDs/ESNs on their network. Unfortunately for them, Apple isn't making separate cellular iPad models for different carriers anymore. I guess in this case, it sucks to be Verizon.
So the website says its to accommodate short-term data plans. My question is will it also be used for my monthly $10 add-on to my ATT data plan or will I have to get another SIM.
I know nobody probably has the answer right now but I do notice nobody asked that specific question.
I know nobody probably has the answer right now but I do notice nobody asked that specific question.
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-ipad/ipad-air-2
Scroll down to the FAQ section:
So the Apple SIM cards will be Air 2 and mini 3 only.
I would save that Apple SIM and ask your local AT&T store to give you a separate nano SIM card for their monthly plan. Just in case...
Except a cellular iPad would need a carrier. Apple doesn't provide cell service, so, Apple isn't forcing them to do anything. No carrier support, Apple can't sell cellular iPads.
And the difference is here it looks like you can switch it out and use an unsupported carrier where as Apple's proposal for a built in SIM wouldn't have allowed that.
That was for international roaming, the SIM wasn't used on the Verizon network in the US with the 4S.
I don't get what the big deal is. Networking wise it just sounds like a sim with roaming. Business wise Apple negotiated some interesting stuff but there is nothing special about the tech.
1) How will the Apple sim affect the T-Mobile free data for life ?
2) Sprint was requiring you to buy a Sprint iPad Air with LTE to use their network (AT&T, T-Mobile didn't care). Are you required to buy a Sprint iPad Air2 with LTE to use the Sprint network ? If not, does that mean any iPad Air can now use the Sprint network ?
3) To use Verizon on the Air2, do you need to get a Verizon LTE Air2 or just go to the Verizon store with any newly purchased Air2. What's to prevent you from putting the Apple sim back into your Air 2 after registering it with Verizon or switching back to the Verizon sim when you want to us Verizon ?
2) Sprint was requiring you to buy a Sprint iPad Air with LTE to use their network (AT&T, T-Mobile didn't care). Are you required to buy a Sprint iPad Air2 with LTE to use the Sprint network ? If not, does that mean any iPad Air can now use the Sprint network ?
3) To use Verizon on the Air2, do you need to get a Verizon LTE Air2 or just go to the Verizon store with any newly purchased Air2. What's to prevent you from putting the Apple sim back into your Air 2 after registering it with Verizon or switching back to the Verizon sim when you want to us Verizon ?
I think it's an American thing. They are locked into one provider or something. Bizarre, I know.
Not really. A few years ago there were iPads for each of the four big carriers. Sprint and Verzion use CDMA frequencies for their voice but provided sims for their GSM data. They, however, insisted you buy an iPad designated in their system as 'theirs' and pretty much refused to activate an iPad that wasn't in their system. ATT and T-Mo were always pretty much interchangeable.
Recently Sprint joined ATT/T-Mo but Verzion is still a holdout.
Thing is all of them do offer pretty affordable short-term data plans. T-Mo has a free 200mb/month for life. But to take advantage of them one had to have several sims and keep track of them. Apparently this is a way to have multiple accounts at the same time and not have to change sims when changing accounts.
But it's unclear exactly how it will work. Interesting that this wasn't mentioned in the Keynote. It's rather a big deal to people who use multiple data accounts. We'll see in a week or so. I predict a lot of confusion to start, especially with carrier customer service reps.