Other After three years, I won't buy an iPhone 14 due to the SIM tray...

[Jett0516]

Are you sure that no carriers in the Philippines support esim?

Also you can always get a mobile hotspot device or bring your older device.

I travel international often and its no big deal.

 

[BlueandSilver]

It’s no doubt a massive inconvenience for many, but it will likely be one of those forced transitions that Apple is historically known for when getting rid of things. If a company has the modern tech to support a full featured carrier service with SIM cards then it has the ability over time to transition. The alternative to a SIM card is not long hours on the phone. The ideal situation which is becoming more common is to change and setup carriers through apps. Just as you would sign out of one email account and add another. I think their vision is that it is a better system in the end even if it includes a rough transition. A SIM card is digital, it is a chip of sort that requires remote activation even if it is usually done ahead of time. The technology is the same, it is simply a difference in decisions made and switches flipped before the card reaches the customer. That can all be done through apps.

 

[iMeMyPhone]

My understanding is that the phone is capable of handling multiple eSims. And the rest of the world will work to accommodate eSims sooner rather than later. Being forced to adopt eSim or not, non-US carriers will not want to lose revenue from US travelers. I travel outside of the US often and I'm not worried.

 

[Jackbequickly]

Perhaps someone can talk me off the cliff here

I am not just posting this to be that person that says "THAT'S IT, I RAGE QUIT" so somehow virtue signal against what is popular.

I have family in the Philippines and when I travel, I immediately remove my SIM and put in one of the carriers there.

HECK, pre-covid they used to give you a sim ON THE PLANE for this purpose. Smart marketing for Globe (the carrier) for sure.

I pay about $50 US and get 40 gigs of data, then remove the card when I get back to the usa.

This is incredibly convenient because I can walk up to any vendor in the airport, shopping mall or street corner shop, immediately get service and then pop my own network sim back in when I am taxiing back on the runway in the USA.

Middle of nowhere and travel? Good freaking luck in getting a fancy eSIM in a developing nation.

I want the "dynamic island" and I want to have that new camera, but I also want to have the phone connecting without having to go through unnecessary steps.

Am I wrong in this?

edit - APPLE HAS A PAGE... Dedicated to carriers that use esim.
In my country case, both esim providers are POSTPAID.

Contract based. That sucks, and again will disqualify someone like me.

‘Afraid eSIM is the standard now and all phones for America will follow the standard. Some of the new iPhone 13 units at ATT are already eSIM with no SIM trays.

You have little choice. . . . in fact, none.

 

[noobinator]

Does anyone know how easy or difficult it is to swap esims on T-Mobile? I always have an iPhone and an Android and like to swap frequently. It's so easy with a physical sim. Hoping I don't have to contact T-Mobile every time I want to switch now.

 

[NLLV]

Will the Unlock version of the IPhone14Pro series have Physicial sim ?

Doubtful, having the phone locked to a carrier has nothing to do with the physical sim, just whether the sim (esim or traditional) needs to be a specific carrier to work and get singal.

 

[NLLV]

Does anyone know how easy or difficult it is to swap esims on T-Mobile? I always have an iPhone and an Android and like to swap frequently. It's so easy with a physical sim. Hoping I don't have to contact T-Mobile every time I want to switch now.

So i have a tiny bit of experience with their eSimis, it was not good.

Before I was a TMO customer I tried their test drive app on iPhone, the 12 pro max then the 13 pro max.

It never worked, at all. Ever. It did not complete the eSim setup.

I went to the store, they can do the eSim there without issues, but if the app for installing an eSim with some data and minutes and text allowance was indicative how "easy" eSim can be as a self service product, it was pretty poor.

 

[NLLV]

As a subscriber to two MVNOs (Fi, Visible) both have eSIM support. Mint Mobile also has eSIM support. Several other MVNOs probably have them too.

I agree with your point on the twisted view of the MVNOs, but the more important point the OP is twisted about is in your second paragraph.

Apple pushing this will force carriers to change to eSIM, since other phones will drop the SIM tray soon too. Smaller carriers weren't the only ones complacent about eSIM, major carriers were too and made some hoops to jump through sometimes. Yeah it's uncomfortable now to think of travel situations, but Apple likely gathers data on how many users actually use multiple or change SIMs, and decided this was better all things considered.

Granted, any metrics for SIM and travel could be skewed by the reduction in travel during pandemic. But the main thing stopping someone from getting service at their destination is the carrier not supporting what will become the new standard in a matter of a year or two.

If the message is to give it a year or two, that is fine. I am not against switching to the device that works best for me. Unfortunately, in terms of content I create, that is still iPhone, but then traveling is an issue.

My carrier t-mobile does not support the country I want to go to in their 5gb data travel plan, so I will need to spend about $100 extra on 30 gigs of data, sucks for me.

 

[NLLV]

Precovid I traveled for work extensively...250,000+ butt in seat air miles per year at least, and never used local sims. For the longest time I was on Google FI because I just loved being able to land anywhere and have full speed data. With the reduction in travel due to Covid, I have had time to reconsider my approach.

For global high speed data, I now use the airalo app to download esims. For Globe.ph, they offer esims for 20GB $32... not great but not bad. Combined with iphones IMS functionality, my phone works exactly as at home.

Only downside is no local number. That said, I can't remember the last time I had to make a normal cellular call overseas, everyone uses messenger apps like Whatsapp now.

I won't be upgrading from my 12 Pro Max this year, but the sim tray is not a consideration in that decision.

Your insignts into the airalo app might have convinced me to purchase an iPhone 14 pro max... I am not against paying for the data, and if I can get that much data, I am sure I am fine and can refill it as needed.

Thank you.

 

[ndouglas]

I guess I understand if you’re not open to this idea, but…
Given your situation and stated needs, why not just get a traditional-SIM iphone for the times you need to travel and can’t use eSIM? Freeing you to get whatever current and future fancy latest and greatest iPhones you want or need, in particular the SE is only like $400, probably less if you look around. For those willing to spend >$1,000 on the newest iphones, seems to me like a couple hundred extra for a travel phone (if really necessary) isn’t a big deal
…plus it has the bonus of less stress about losing or damaging it while traveling.

 

[gotong]

But if I take a 6s+, I won’t be able to take pics using the photonic engine!

And won't be able to benefit from all the cool stuff of the new phone, which is why we're buying this thing

 

[NLLV]

I guess I understand if you’re not open to this idea, but…
Given your situation and stated needs, why not just get a traditional-SIM iphone for the times you need to travel and can’t use eSIM? Freeing you to get whatever current and future fancy latest and greatest iPhones you want or need, in particular the SE is only like $400, probably less if you look around. For those willing to spend >$1,000 on the newest iphones, seems to me like a couple hundred extra for a travel phone (if really necessary) isn’t a big deal
…plus it has the bonus of less stress about losing or damaging it while traveling.

You make a great point about a second device. I use my iPhone for content creation, so I guess using one device for communication and another for travel isn't the worst idea.

Plus, using the smaller one as a hotspot is a definite option.

 

[cbreze]

I worry the carriers will charge an activation fee. I switch back and forth between iOS and Android every few weeks, so this is a concern for me as well.

This is 100% my concern also. Swapping a SIM card takes less than a minute, how long will swapping an Esim take? Back in the CDMA days with Verizon they finally allowed phone swapping using a call in procedure. As I recall it was limited to a certain number of times within a certain period of time. Was a pain in the arse. I like to switch between devices often. Currently using an iPhone 13 and a pixel device. I don’t need a new phone yet but down the road I can easily foresee this becoming an issue. Especially when google also decides to go all in with Esim only phones. This is the direction all phone providers will eventually be going.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

I have the prepaid plan as well. So really no option to continue that plan without a SIM card? I wasn’t planning on getting a new phone this year but will have to look at plans again next summer when my prepaid plan runs out.

I looked into it after posting and was by AT&T that my prepaid plan with them does allow use of an eSIM. So I will just transfer my existing prepaid plan to the eSIM now. It sounds like the process is streamlined.

 

[soulreaver99]

COURAGE

 

[blacksurfer]

buy a 13 pro max from apple store before they sell out.

 

[NM08SRT8]

Talk you off a cliff? Nope, just jump already.

Keep your old phone if it works. Priorities.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Give it 6 months and everyone will support esim. Apple dictates the market.

 

[PJM83]

I’m 100% in the same boat, I travel to Sweden ( for three months every year)… still have my prepaid SIM card from high school 25 years ago. So, for the first time since iPhone 5 I will not do my annual upgrade… this is a total deal killer for me.

Pretty much all Swedish carriers have esim my iPhone 13 has never seen a physical sim, esim only. You should be able to swap your old sim for an esim with the same number without any major hassle.

 

[Taco1933]

Like the headphone jack, it's a little early/obnoxious on the front end, but It'll probably force those countries to adopt the standard and make it more seamless in the long run. In the interim, yeah, might be wise to sit one or two upgrades out until they do.

 

[Blue Quark]

I'm glad to have found this thread. Lately, I've been thinking about an exit strategy from Alphabet, and I always like to keep my options open. Ting Mobile doesn't support eSIM, though they have been talking about it for a while. The other carrier I've previously used and liked was also an MVNO: Straight Talk, and evidently they do support eSIM because they're advertising the 14 on their web site.

Presently, I own a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. It was the last generation to offer a microSD card slot, and having to give that up is a pretty significant bitter pill because that means paying the second or third highest price point for whichever iPhone I might buy, to say nothing of having to re-buy a smart watch just because both Apple and Samsung want to be dicks about their respective smart watches.

But, as I said, I'm looking long-term at this as an exit strategy and trying to always be as informed and educated as possible.

 

[1rottenapple]

Perhaps someone can talk me off the cliff here

I am not just posting this to be that person that says "THAT'S IT, I RAGE QUIT" so somehow virtue signal against what is popular.

I have family in the Philippines and when I travel, I immediately remove my SIM and put in one of the carriers there.

HECK, pre-covid they used to give you a sim ON THE PLANE for this purpose. Smart marketing for Globe (the carrier) for sure.

I pay about $50 US and get 40 gigs of data, then remove the card when I get back to the usa.

This is incredibly convenient because I can walk up to any vendor in the airport, shopping mall or street corner shop, immediately get service and then pop my own network sim back in when I am taxiing back on the runway in the USA.

Middle of nowhere and travel? Good freaking luck in getting a fancy eSIM in a developing nation.

I want the "dynamic island" and I want to have that new camera, but I also want to have the phone connecting without having to go through unnecessary steps.

Am I wrong in this?

edit - APPLE HAS A PAGE... Dedicated to carriers that use esim.
In my country case, both esim providers are POSTPAID.

Contract based. That sucks, and again will disqualify someone like me.

Dude, me too. I travel a lot, and Philippines I often go to because of family. Any local sim cards in Asia are so cheap. Its ridiculously easy to pop a sim when you land at the airport from a stall. I think I paid about 15 dollars for 20 gigs of data I used (paying a few dollars for 5gig at a time. And unfortunately smart and globe are not friendly in terms of making it easy to use esim if you are just there for a few weeks. Pretty lame. This is a pretty painful sticking point since I travel 1x a year and always look to save on data.

 

[1rottenapple]

My work phone is physical sim so instead of carrying two phones I just use my personal one esim/sim. As a yearly upgrader I’m literally squeezed out of iPhones for the foreseeable future and even if my company does go esim I’ll never have the account info to swap it over to my personal phone so I’ll be stuck with two phones.

Stinks of some BS Apple and the cell companies wanted in order to control more things. Why else would they provide additional incentives this year when trading in with a carrier.

I was listening to Macworld podcast and they were also saying how police (and governmental authorities, and of course governments outside the USA) have more control with esim than a physical sim. Better able to identify you. Physical sims you can use it as a drop phone, pop in and out as needed. So interesting take Macworld.

 

[1rottenapple]

You make a great point about a second device. I use my iPhone for content creation, so I guess using one device for communication and another for travel isn't the worst idea.

Plus, using the smaller one as a hotspot is a definite option.

its funny people say this will for telecoms to change. haha They have no idea what telecoms like smart and globe are like. They are HORRIBLE. They literally send you text messages that eat up your load so you can't load the exact amount to buy data you have to add and pay more (my experience). They're horrible. And they are a monopoly since they control 99% of the cell towers. There are no options.

 

[HDFan]

Probably stated in earlier post in this thread but no time to read them all.

At the launch event, Apple spokespeople told The Verge that the iPhone 14 can store up to six eSIMS, with up to two active at once; the iPhone 14 Pro can hold eight. Global eSIM reseller Airalo says previous iPhones could hold five to 10, depending on the model. This could take some of the sting out of the loss of the physical SIM tray, though not all international carriers support eSIMs.

The iPhone 14 won’t have a SIM tray in the US

Losing a physical SIM on purpose for once

www.theverge.com