Steve Jobs Wanted Original iPhone to Have No SIM Card Slot, Says Former iPod VP

[0924487]

I was pleasantly surprised that the iPhone could 'keep' multiple eSIMs.
I live in country A with an esimA. I traveled to country B and got a temporary esimB.
Coming back to country A, I could just 'swap' my eSIM to esimA, and just remove (delete) esimB.

I was honestly surprised I could have multiple eSIMs available on the phone an pick out of them which to use.

I'm not sure how many eSIMs the phone can keep, but I found I was really happy with the convenience eSIM provided.

I'm all for eSIM only, as soon as enough countries support it.

eSIM is a lot less secure as it cannot be used to authenticate a real human being.

You have to associate your phone number and the SIM card to a national ID card in China. In the process, you have your biometrics taken. So, having a SIM card basically means you have a digital ID card in China for online use. It's one and only, no one can misrepresent you or a Chinese citizen. It's used for banking authentication and everything. If some app or phone company can just issue new numbers or floating Chinese numbers to anyone, it will compromise the secured system. It will also obfuscate the real identity behind the phone number. Since the initial activation doesn't require mailing of the physical SIM, it allows for remote activation out of the country, which invites scammers in SE Asia, and this is a real organized fraud problem.

 

[SurferPup]

I embraced eSIMs. I have use an eSIM for my iPhone 12 Pro and Google Pixel 6. With my carrier, I can use it worldwide, same plan as at home for only $5 per day.

 

[diamond.g]

Out of curiosity, how did the iPhone 4 CDMA version work if there was no sim tray but also that eSims weren’t a thing yet?

It was a form of unchangeable (IIRC) eSIM. Verizon and Sprint used it, but as far as I know you couldn't switch networks with a single device.

 

[djdj]

Please don’t remove it. I move SIM cards between devices all the time. This would be enough of a reason for me to switch to a different device.

 

[progx]

It’s funny, now eSIM is the direction the providers are mowing toward.

I remember the CDMA version of the iPhone 4. Very excited when Verizon finally got it, so I could ditch the Droids and get something that I knew worked for me. Have been using iPhones continuously for over a decade.

Just wish it wasn’t exclusive to AT&T first, their service was terrible in those early days. Calls would complete… to a different phone number or not at all. The iPhone 3G was great at the time, but I couldn’t imagine using those phones today. While things are stagnant with smart devices, we still have come a long way.

 

[Reason077]

Why remove functionality. Granted it would be more watertight but an eSIM and slot allows for two numbers to be used easily as well and swap out for a local SIM when traveling.

An eSIM might involve needing to go to a carrier to activate which is one more hassle that can be avoided.

I suspect eSIM is inevitable, eventually. The SIM card, tray, and supporting hardware is bulky and will no doubt add to assembly costs. Apple will start to remove it once they can get a critical mass of carriers to support eSIM.

And as you say, eSIM is much more convenient. Can’t be lost, don’t have to physically be ordered in the mail or in store etc.

I agree about dual-SIM functionality, and it will be a shame if they remove that. But what’s to stop a phone having multiple active eSIMs?

 

[jlc1978]

How often do you really need to activate new phones? This should of course be done digitally.

Quite often when you travel alot internationally and want a local number for cheap calling or high speed data where you are located.

It was a form of unchangeable (IIRC) eSIM. Verizon and Sprint used it, but as far as I know you couldn't switch networks with a single device.

You theoretically could if the device could be entered into a carrier’s database in some cases. It wasn’t easy.

 

[djdj]

Wait, why do we even still use sim cards?
All other services have normal accounts, why the >30 years old tech to handle the basic functionality of our futuristic devices?

Have you ever damaged or replaced your phone? Or dropped it off for service? Using a SIM lets you move your number to a different device instantly without having to call the carrier (from another phone) and have them move it for you, with the delays and possible fees. Getting rid of SIMs would be a huge mistake and extremely inconvenient.

 

[CrzySxyCl]

Wait, why do we even still use sim cards?
All other services have normal accounts, why the >30 years old tech to handle the basic functionality of our futuristic devices?

One good reason: two factor. You can remove the sim and place it in another phone and get the code. With eSim only, no way to get the code.

 

[diamond.g]

Quite often when you travel alot internationally and want a local number for cheap calling or high speed data where you are located.

You theoretically could if the device could be entered into a carrier’s database in some cases. It wasn’t easy.

Yeah the carriers were really reluctant to do it. The "nice" thing was stolen phones were useless because they couldn't be reactivated anywhere else.

 

[dannys1]

Remember for you all you "this wouldn't happen under Steve" and "Jony was so bad for Apple" folk that Steve was as brutally function over form as you could get. If there was a screw that you function over form people wouldn't even notice showing he'd insist on spending weeks figuring out how to hide it.

He wanted the iPhone to have no slot just for looks at the expensive of functionality - he had brutalist visions and that's what i like(d) most about Apple before this "design by committee" phase we're in now.

 

[EugW]

What proportion of low cost Android phones don't support eSIM now? I'm wondering because up until very recently, a lot of the low cost carriers in Canada did not support eSIM. BTW, I found this a bit odd, considering that these low cost carriers were actually owned and operated by the big mainstream carriers which did support eSIM.

My father has a pre-paid plan and I have been giving him my old devices when I buy a new one.

Today, I can easily move his physical SIM between phones (including trimming and sanding old SIM cards to the nano-SIM dimensions) and not be subjected to a carrier activation extortion fee.

I read carriers original objection to eSIM many years ago was they wanted to a cut of the device cost savings from Apple. I assume that with eSIM only phones, I will no longer have the luxury giving my father my old devices without the carrier hitting me with an activation extortion fee.

While I like SIMs, cutting down old SIM cards to nanoSIM dimensions is generally not recommended. The reason for this is that the spec for nanoSIM is thinner than microSIM.

Because of this, old microSIMs cut to nanoSIM size can sometimes get stuck in some phones. It's not that common, but it's common enough to be a concern.

 

[StuBeck]

We already knew this, or is this just interesting notes from Tony's discussion?

If you read about Project Purple, Steve fought hard to make Apple an NVMO, but someone finally got through his thick skull the mind numbing costs of building much less maintaining that kind of network.

Then he wanted CDMA, but GSM adoption was 3-4x that and would cripple the iPhone's market potential. But the argument raged for over a year because CDMA is a newer tech and Apple could be the company to expand the CDMA market by leveraging its customer base as the adoption increasing element. What ended it was Cingular buying AT&T and Jobs fell in love with the idea of using the oldest American phone company name as a huge draw to the nascent product. AT&T created the phone system, and so it was fate for the iPhone to be on it.

I don't know if he was aware, maybe the engineers were, but AT&T created UNIX and the fork of Version 4 became BSD, the foundation for Darwin. Darwin is the base layer for MacOS X and all of its forks, including iOS.

And iirc, Steve got embarassed in front of a Cingular exec because he demanded the iPhone to be all aluminum and the radio was useless, hence the black plastic passthrough on the back of the 2G prototype and eventual launch model.

We did know this, as well as the MVNO thing. I think Jobs wanted CDMA because of Verizon more than anything, but can believe the fact he thought he could change the entire world over to CDMA based on selling a non-subsidized phone for 3 times the cost of every other phone on the market.

Also a bit funny about the ATT thing, because my bill for years still showed Cingular as the vendor which I'm sure would have annoyed Jobs if he had ever looked at a bank account statement, which I'm assuming he did not.

 

[diamond.g]

CDMA did not use a SIM for the account. It used a different protocol to verify a valid account.

ESN that is what CDMA networks used.

 

[GadgetBen]

E-sim with networks has always been over complicated and such a hassle. Especially with Apple Watch mobile data plans.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what plans Apple has for this and the standard SIM especially if it involves satellites.

 

[KPOM]

I suspect eSIM is inevitable, eventually. The SIM card, tray, and supporting hardware is bulky and will no doubt add to assembly costs. Apple will start to remove it once they can get a critical mass of carriers to support eSIM.

And as you say, eSIM is much more convenient. Can’t be lost, don’t have to physically be ordered in the mail or in store etc.

I agree about dual-SIM functionality, and it will be a shame if they remove that. But what’s to stop a phone having multiple active eSIMs?

The iPhone 13 supports 2 eSIMs. I use mine with 2 carriers and 0 physical SIM cards.

 

[pauloregan]

Apple cellular plan marketplace with 30% Apple tax for the carriers en-route.

 

[darngooddesign]

How often do you really need to activate new phones? This should of course be done digitally.

If it really were a simple and free process you could have a small iPhone and a large iPhone; activate the small one if you are going out because it will slip in your pocket easier and activate the big one when that doesn't matter.

 

[chucker23n1]

Physical SIM cards (as well as eSIMs) are a bizarre holdover from the pre-iOS/Android era.

Your iPhone also doesn't have a physical card to authenticate with your Apple ID (iCloud, App Store, etc.). Nor with MacRumors Forums. Nor with your Wi-Fi access point. Nor your e-mail service. Nor does your Mac need a physical card to authenticate with anything.

 

[EugW]

Physical SIM cards (as well as eSIMs) are a bizarre holdover from the pre-iOS/Android era.

Your iPhone also doesn't have a physical card to authenticate with your Apple ID (iCloud, App Store, etc.). Nor with MacRumors Forums. Nor with your Wi-Fi access point. Nor your e-mail service. Nor does your Mac need a physical card to authenticate with anything.

Indeed. But sometimes I really appreciate the simplicity of a SIM card. With a SIM card, you transfer your card over, and it's done. Or you can transfer it back, in 10 seconds and you're done.

I've had on-and-off problems with Apple IDs that were usually Apple's fault and it gets quite frustrating.

 

[HarryDevlin]

Rumors have suggested Apple could soon release an iPhone without a physical SIM card slot, and it turns out that if that's accurate, Apple would be realizing Steve Jobs' vision for the original iPhone, according to former iPod VP Tony Fadell.

Fadell was recently interviewed by journalist Joanna Stern for a special event at the Computer History Museum to promote his new book Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, and during the conversation Fadell revealed that Steve Jobs wanted the iPhone to be a seamless device that didn't include a SIM card slot.

Instead of relying on GSM cellular technology, Jobs was apparently more interested in using CDMA to connect iPhones to cell towers and cited Verizon's nascent use of the technology, which allows supporting phones to link directly to the carrier's network.

Fadell said he had to show Jobs market data to convince the former Apple CEO that CDMA adoption was too low for it to be a feasible option for the iPhone.

In fact, Apple did eventually release a SIM-less iPhone, but not until midway through the normal iPhone release cycle in January 2011, when it launched a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 for the Verizon network. The SIM card slot returned on the CDMA-equipped iPhone 4S, but the slot wasn't supported by Verizon.

Late last year, Brazilian website Blog do iPhone claimed that iPhone 15 Pro models might not have a physical SIM card slot in at least some countries and regions.

Soon after the story broke, MacRumors received a seemingly legitimate document from an anonymous tipster indicating that Apple had advised major U.S. carriers to prepare for the launch of eSIM-only smartphones as soon as September 2022.

Given the alleged September 2022 deadline, it is possible that Apple might remove the physical SIM card slot on some iPhone 14 models, rather than some iPhone 15 models as originally rumored, but nothing is definitive at this point.

One obstacle is that eSIM functionality is not available in all countries, so iPhones sold in some areas will need to continue to offer a nano-SIM slot. In countries where a SIM-free iPhone is available, it may be optional, with consumers still able to choose a version with a SIM. There are more than 60 countries that support eSIM, with a list available on Apple's website.

Apple is expected to introduce the iPhone 14 models at an event that's likely to be held in September 2022, if Apple follows previous launch timelines.

(Via 9to5Mac.)

Article Link: Steve Jobs Wanted Original iPhone to Have No SIM Card Slot, Says Former iPod VP

It's time to remove more functionality from the iPhone.

The iPhone 13 removed the ability to turn off HDR mode, worsening the camera, and removed noise cancellation for phone calls, but these functionality removals were pretty minor compared to the loss of 3D Touch or the loss of the headphone jack.

Removing the SIM card is a good start, eliminating the ability for international travelers to purchase a low-cost SIM card when they arrive and getting rid of all those pesky MVNO and prepaid customers where there is no eSIM support, but it's not enough.

Why does an iPhone need a wired connection? You can charge it, and transfer data, wirelessly.
Why does an iPhone need any switches and buttons at all? Everything can be done from the screen.
Why does an iPhone need a speaker and a microphone? That reduces sales of Airpods.

And Apple wonders why Android keeps gaining market share and the iPhone keeps losing market share!

 

[chucker23n1]

Indeed. But sometimes I really appreciate the simplicity of a SIM card. With a SIM card, you transfer your card over, and it's done. Or you can transfer it back, in 10 seconds and you're done.

Yeah, but I don't think the solution is "more cards". Nor do I think "your card contains your digital identity" is something most people would understand (instead, the phone is the digital identity). Even fairly tech-savvy people seem to think of "put the SIM card in your new phone" as something they have to do, not something that's useful to be able to do.

There's an alt-universe where both iOS and Android had worked with the GSM association to significantly upgrade SIM cards so that they do contain all your identity information. Kind of what's partially on the Secure Enclave, etc.

 

[EugW]

Yeah, but I don't think the solution is "more cards". Nor do I think "your card contains your digital identity" is something most people would understand (instead, the phone is the digital identity). Even fairly tech-savvy people seem to think of "put the SIM card in your new phone" as something they have to do, not something that's useful to be able to do.

I still prefer SIM cards for phones. For example, they're especially useful when testing multiple phones at the same time.

I'd like to consider myself at least reasonably tech savvy.

But like I said, I think the ideal situation is what we have now, which is SIM support and eSIM support in the same phone. It doesn't have to be only one vs. the other.

 

[bluespark]

I would love to see the end of the physical SIM card. As it stands it’s that thing you fiddle with when you first buy your phone and maybe swap when you are abroad if you don’t leave your phone at home like a normal person.

Normal people leave their phones at home when traveling abroad? Since when? Do those people have jobs?

 

[ApplesAreSweet&Sour]

I can imagine Apple is more interested about the ability to gain space for other components, than it is about waterproofing.

Definitely this -It's quite a lot of space for something that the vast majority of users rarely need to access.

The fact that SIM cards can also break or become misplaced within the slot when opening and closing it makes for a less than optimal user experience.