I personally use AT&T, i pay 150$/mo (i get special discounts) for an IPad Pro, Apple Watch SE2 (which i had already), Pixel Watch 3, Pixel Pro 10, and Apple 16e, and this is 150$/mo for 36-48mo or so
But if you’re a developer and you really want to experience the whole ‘on device’ thing, and are strapped for cash, you should really try to go to a good carrier (AT&T has spotty reception but a decent line up, where I live I only get 1 bar in a 15 mile radius) and buy multiple devices for your needs. Most offer monthly installments on devices such as iPad Pro or IPhone 17 Pro Max, and can be affordable even on a budget.
When you buy a device on installment, and some of these devices can be expensive as 2k total, a down payment or an up front cost is charged, somewhere between 100-200$ on AT&T, not sure about Verizon and TMobile etc
Also most carriers, I think Mint and ATT offer eSIM capabilities, meaning you can get another line within minutes of paying and activating your eSIM. For AT&T if you erase your device, you delete the eSIM file on device, but if you register and authorize your device you can send a ping to that device from ATT.com to download and activate that devices carrier chip into downloading a new eSIM file; saving time from getting a SIM mailed to you. And you can get a second up to a fifth line almost instantly using eSIM technology!
Mint charges 45$/3mo for a somewhat basic eSIM subscription; that’s 15$/mo for a second line, and I believe iPhone’s can support up to 5 extra lines; making it awesome to run a business on your phone or make international calls, or just impress people
There are UI contrivances when using two or more lines; the bars on the upper right hand screen are now two or more seperate bars, you have to select which line to sms text from, and you can add the other lines to iMessage meaning you can text with that number on your macOS device, just be sure to keep paying your bill!
If you really don’t have a credit card or debit card, try going to a bank, opening an account, and depositing money once in a while, and use that debit card to pay your bill! Failing that, get a friend or relative to pay for it, or split it.
I personally got an iPad Pro M4 for about 50$/mo and I’m working on getting an Apple Watch and IPhone 17 Pro to replace my 16e next month for a 200$ down payment and about an extra 60$/mo, each with their own line. And yes, you can buy IPads/Apple and android watches with LTE/5G/GPS chips and get data almost anywhere. I pay 10$/mo for unlimited talk/texts and 4gb of data, good enough for web browsing and the occasional small file. And yes, this is the perfect opportunity to use mobile hotspot with 5G for your laptop for you and your friends and family!!
Roger
But if you’re a developer and you really want to experience the whole ‘on device’ thing, and are strapped for cash, you should really try to go to a good carrier (AT&T has spotty reception but a decent line up, where I live I only get 1 bar in a 15 mile radius) and buy multiple devices for your needs. Most offer monthly installments on devices such as iPad Pro or IPhone 17 Pro Max, and can be affordable even on a budget.
When you buy a device on installment, and some of these devices can be expensive as 2k total, a down payment or an up front cost is charged, somewhere between 100-200$ on AT&T, not sure about Verizon and TMobile etc
Also most carriers, I think Mint and ATT offer eSIM capabilities, meaning you can get another line within minutes of paying and activating your eSIM. For AT&T if you erase your device, you delete the eSIM file on device, but if you register and authorize your device you can send a ping to that device from ATT.com to download and activate that devices carrier chip into downloading a new eSIM file; saving time from getting a SIM mailed to you. And you can get a second up to a fifth line almost instantly using eSIM technology!
Mint charges 45$/3mo for a somewhat basic eSIM subscription; that’s 15$/mo for a second line, and I believe iPhone’s can support up to 5 extra lines; making it awesome to run a business on your phone or make international calls, or just impress people
There are UI contrivances when using two or more lines; the bars on the upper right hand screen are now two or more seperate bars, you have to select which line to sms text from, and you can add the other lines to iMessage meaning you can text with that number on your macOS device, just be sure to keep paying your bill!
If you really don’t have a credit card or debit card, try going to a bank, opening an account, and depositing money once in a while, and use that debit card to pay your bill! Failing that, get a friend or relative to pay for it, or split it.
I personally got an iPad Pro M4 for about 50$/mo and I’m working on getting an Apple Watch and IPhone 17 Pro to replace my 16e next month for a 200$ down payment and about an extra 60$/mo, each with their own line. And yes, you can buy IPads/Apple and android watches with LTE/5G/GPS chips and get data almost anywhere. I pay 10$/mo for unlimited talk/texts and 4gb of data, good enough for web browsing and the occasional small file. And yes, this is the perfect opportunity to use mobile hotspot with 5G for your laptop for you and your friends and family!!
Roger