Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

SIM-Free iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Now Available From Apple Online Store

So there is the GSM-only iPhone and the CDMA+GSM iPhone. No price difference.

I don't understand. Why does the GSM-only phone even exist? Why should anyone buy it?
 
Anandc said:
You do have a valid point but that's exactly why Apple doesn't want to introduce Sim-Free in USA first. They know the Black Market traffic will affect US customers which are more important to them. People can buy from anywhere but they will buy end up buying from everywhere too. Apple wants the Black Market supply to be done from outside USA and serve the Americans first.

Also Apple indirectly does give you unlocked phone with T-Mobile since you don't need an account.
[doublepost=1476449946][/doublepost]

ATT is GSM and Sim-Free is GSM+CDMA. As simple as it can get!
Click to expand...
Ohhhhh, okay.. Sorry that felt like a dumb question. Thanks!
 
bajones780 said:
So there is the GSM-only iPhone and the CDMA+GSM iPhone. No price difference.

I don't understand. Why does the GSM-only phone even exist? Why should anyone buy it?
Click to expand...

First, most mobile carriers around the world only use GSM. Second, most people sign up with a carrier and stick with them, so having a GSM only phone isn't a big deal.
 
Not sure whomever coined the "Sim Free" term - seems odd, considering they used to be called "world phones" - but, then I guess the GSM carriers started calling theirs "world phones" once they had 7 or 8 different GSM frequencies provided. You still need to put a SIM card in to work on a GSM network.

Those saying the US is the only country that SIM locks? Nope - still do it in Canada - though now the carrier is forced to (for a fee) remove the SIM lock on request (only underscoring how stupid it is to still be doing this). I'm sure there's likely still others. There used to be in Europe, but that went away.

Surprised Verizon and Sprint haven't shut down their CDMA networks yet....they certainly should have (pretty sure Bell and Telus have in Canada). The licensing fees they have to pay to Qualcomm for those base stations must really be aggravating. Unless you're in rural areas of China (China Mobile) I'm not sure there's a lot of value in a handset that still supports CDMA.
 
themick4u said:
I am about sick of this. I'm nearly ready to cancel my order that I placed on preorder kickoff date and hold off for the 8.
Click to expand...
If, and this is if the iPhone 8 (whatever the name is), is the iPhone we all hope for, we'll be waiting until late January 2018. 😱
 
Anandc said:
Also Apple indirectly does give you unlocked phone with T-Mobile since you don't need an account.
Click to expand...

That must be new with the iPhone 7. If you activated a T-Mobile US iPhone with the 6s or 6 and you get it under EIP the phone was locked to T-Mobile. In fact the Apple website would even *send* you to T-Mobile to get an iPhone in the past. They would unlock it only if [a] you are a long standing customer and have a need to travel internationally or you have paid off the phone. If you buy the phone in full up front you will still have to have T-Mobile put in the unlock request.

Source: I used to work for T-Mobile and just had to suffer this when I ported my iPhones out to Verizon. It was used as a way to keep people from buying the phones with EIP, cancelling their service and not returning the phone to T-Mobile and trying to take them elsewhere.
 
Last edited:
I think it's actually terrible that Apple did this with the iPhone 7 regarding the different modems. It's incredibly un-Apple to make three different versions of the same phone rather then make one streamlined version that's the same in all countries. We were getting so close to this in previous iPhones and now it seems we're taking a giant step back with the crippled GSM version that not only is missing a ton of bands compared to the CDMA version, but is inferior speedwise in every single way. for instance, speed tests when connected to the SAME TOWER, in the same location, can be roughly TWICE as fast on the CDMA version then the GSM one. The Intel modem sucks and AT&T and t-mobile are far faster on the Verizon/sprint model then they are on their own GSM version of the phone. This is crazy!! I know apple got a great deal on these Intel chips, but it's certainly not worth fragmenting users on your flagship product that costs over $1000. This is beyond greedy.

The third version of course being the Japanese version that has the extra Sony subway system chips. Why isn't this the sim free version sold in the US? I go to Japan often and would love to have this ability. They even bragged about it in the Apple event. Why in the hell is this feature not even on any iPhone 7 sold in the US? Everything about them lately has seemed so misleading. I hate feeling so strongly about things like this, but I really think they made a really bad decision here to cut costs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SystemHasFailed
MacRumors said:
According to Apple, SIM-free models (A1660 and A1661) will work with any carrier and have full support for CDMA and GSM networks, much like the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus devices available from Sprint or Verizon.
Click to expand...
This is news to me. Was this also true of iPhone 6? If you bought it SIM-free and unlocked, it will work on either CDMA or GSM networks?
 
So is there any difference at all between the SIM-free model and the Verizon unlocked model? Is it the same model number (A1660)? Does the Verizon model, perhaps, prevent you from going on competing CDMA networks (as it has in the past, sort of)?
 
archagon said:
So is there any difference at all between the SIM-free model and the Verizon unlocked model? Is it the same model number (A1660)? Does the Verizon model, perhaps, prevent you from going on competing CDMA networks (as it has in the past, sort of)?
Click to expand...

The difference is that the MEIDs are pre-registered with both sprint & Verizon out of the box rather then you having to possibly manually add it to the carrier opposite the one you bought it for. It's a bit of a convenience factor but other then that the models are the same. Remember, you'll still have to acquire a sim for either Verizon or sprint to use LTE data dispite the MEIDs being in their systems. Always thought that it's funny they call their sims a UCCID card.
 
  • Like
Reactions: archagon
649 $ ???

In Europe we pay 759 € !!!

That's 185 $ more

wtf apple?!!!
 
dpace32 said:
Does the program still require activation after your first phone? We just signed up for the IUP with Sprint but have since cancel sprint and gone back to our old GSM provider (US Cellular) without a contract. Next year, do I need to sign up with another carrier again to keep participating in IUP?
Click to expand...
Yes it does. When upgrading, your existing Citizens One loan is canceled and you start the process over from scratch.
 
okwhatev said:
I think it's actually terrible that Apple did this with the iPhone 7 regarding the different modems
Click to expand...

Honestly I agree.. .CDMA while a 'dead end' technology is still used heavily enough that even Apple couldn't deny the business sense in supporting it. And now Apple has taken IMNHO a huge step backward in adding to the confusion of which phone works on which network and what you have to do to port out or use the phone overseas. That exact confusion was *why* Apple moved to a multi-band radio and multi-stack modem in the first place.

When CMDA is finally dead then let's talk about removing it from the modem chipset but given how many places in the world it's being used I don't see that happening soon.
 
  • Like
Reactions: themick4u
genius2k said:
Did you make a reservation online? Or you just showed up and asked for verizon version. Thank you!
Click to expand...

No reservation (in fact, at that time it wasn't even possible to order it for in store pickup because it required an active Verizon account to get a Verizon model, which I do not have). If you see it in stock, just go in the store and buy it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back