iPhone 16/Plus iPhone 15 Pro users, and prospective iPhone 16e users, this question is for you.

[goldmac2006]

Just tried charging my AW S7 with its USB C cable with my 15P and it worked?! It’s very good to know that a C-to-C cable will charge my AirPods case if I really need it to, thank you!
Funnily enough did my girlfriend and I find 2 Micro USB/USB C fans you can attach to your phone discarded somewhere and tried them with our phones, she has a 2021 OnePlus 9 Pro and they didn’t turn on at all with her phone but surprisingly the iPhone was a lot more chill and just powered them like it’s nothing.
But, didn’t some iPad (Pro) models also have reverse charging that worked with more than just the Apple Pencil? I really thought they do.
Anyway, thank you!

Yeah, I tested it with a USB-C hub I recently acquired that was designed to address the limited port issue on Macs and expand the ports for other computers and iPads. I connected an Apple Watch portable charging puck that uses USB-A to it, and surprisingly, it worked with my iPhone! Since the 2018 iPad Pro, 6th-generation iPad mini, and iPad Air 5, Apple devices can now charge Apple Pencils on their side using inductive charging, similar to the Apple Watch. However, this is the first time reverse charging has been enabled on an Apple device alongside USB-C. I recall these fan dongles you can find at the dollar store. I used to throw them out after they stopped working after a year. Instead, I now use better mini USB fans from the store that I place on my desk or nightstand when I’m in my room with the ceiling fan on. I also carry a rechargeable fan miniso power bank with me on hot days that can charge an iPhone once and an Apple Watch a few times. It’s not USB-C, but it serves multiple purposes.

By the way, have you noticed that you can’t add visual intelligence to your 15 Pro either since updating to the beta 18.4? Let me know if you have any thoughts on that.

 

[Parowdy]

Yeah, I tested it with a USB-C hub I recently acquired that was designed to address the limited port issue on Macs and expand the ports for other computers and iPads. I connected an Apple Watch portable charging puck that uses USB-A to it, and surprisingly, it worked with my iPhone! Since the 2018 iPad Pro, 6th-generation iPad mini, and iPad Air 5, Apple devices can now charge Apple Pencils on their side using inductive charging, similar to the Apple Watch. However, this is the first time reverse charging has been enabled on an Apple device alongside USB-C. I recall these fan dongles you can find at the dollar store. I used to throw them out after they stopped working after a year. Instead, I now use better mini USB fans from the store that I place on my desk or nightstand when I’m in my room with the ceiling fan on. I also carry a rechargeable fan miniso power bank with me on hot days that can charge an iPhone once and an Apple Watch a few times. It’s not USB-C, but it serves multiple purposes.

By the way, have you noticed that you can’t add visual intelligence to your 15 Pro either since updating to the beta 18.4? Let me know if you have any thoughts on that.

I have one of these dongles for my dark-age-MBP and remembered Apple to talk about all kinds of stuff you can add during the 15P presentation. I was pleasantly surprised that reading/WRITING to hard drives and USB A drives and whatnot else is possible with and without it. Definitely a good call to go with the 15P and not the 14P even if it was just USB C, but with reverse charging and writing do disks and plugging in displays and peripherals, it’s a no brainer.
I find it very dishonest and unfortunate that we can only write /save video to disk using Apples ProRes format. I understand that basically NEED it for that, but recording cinema video in 4K 30 for half an hour in total is taxing on storage too and I can offload the files after recording, so why not during recording like even larger files?? Anyway.

I’m on the public beta because I don’t need another dev beta to break anything important because I only have this one main device and I have no trust in iCloud or Finder backups at the time.
Also, as I’m in Europe, I don’t get access to any AI features anyway.
I’ll file a report come April when AI should finally be available but VI is still missing though.

 

[goldmac2006]

I have one of these dongles for my dark-age-MBP and remembered Apple to talk about all kinds of stuff you can add during the 15P presentation. I was pleasantly surprised that reading/WRITING to hard drives and USB A drives and whatnot else is possible with and without it. Definitely a good call to go with the 15P and not the 14P even if it was just USB C, but with reverse charging and writing do disks and plugging in displays and peripherals, it’s a no brainer.
I find it very dishonest and unfortunate that we can only write /save video to disk using Apples ProRes format. I understand that basically NEED it for that, but recording cinema video in 4K 30 for half an hour in total is taxing on storage too and I can offload the files after recording, so why not during recording like even larger files?? Anyway.

I’m on the public beta because I don’t need another dev beta to break anything important because I only have this one main device and I have no trust in iCloud or Finder backups at the time.
Also, as I’m in Europe, I don’t get access to any AI features anyway.
I’ll file a report come April when AI should finally be available but VI is still missing though.

Yes, ProRes recording does have restrictions for you all with 128 and 256GB iPhone 15 Pros, including Vision Pro spatial video. They limit the maximum recording time to half an hour unless you connect an external storage device that exceeds your iPhone’s storage capacity. Have you tried using the USB-C hub with your 15 Pro?

Yes, to bypass the AI availability restriction in the EU region, your iPhone’s region must be set to the USA. It only works if you set your iPhone accordingly.

 

[Parowdy]

Yes, ProRes recording does have restrictions for you all with 128 and 256GB iPhone 15 Pros, including Vision Pro spatial video. They limit the maximum recording time to half an hour unless you connect an external storage device that exceeds your iPhone’s storage capacity. Have you tried using the USB-C hub with your 15 Pro?

Yes, to bypass the AI availability restriction in the EU region, your iPhone’s region must be set to the USA. It only works if you set your iPhone accordingly.

I’ve tried the hub and it works I guess, only really tried a USB A stick with it.
I eventually did download the dev beta and, yeah it’s weird. My region is still Germany but it’s downloading whatever it needs and I just had my first encounter with it writing this comment.

When I first opened settings it said this:

Apparently my iPhone was set to UK English. I changed that and it said this:

From there on I opened the link regarding supported languages.
When I came back it said this( without changing my region to the US):

It still says that 3 hours later. I was wondering if it actually was doing anything because image playground and whatnot don’t show up. Well, but this did:

I’ll let it finish whatever it’s doing and restart my phone in the morning and see what that does.

Guess I’ll be able to make that feedback after all…

Edit: this makes things clearer trying to use AI features in notes

 

[goldmac2006]

I’ve tried the hub and it works I guess, only really tried a USB A stick with it.
I eventually did download the dev beta and, yeah it’s weird. My region is still Germany but it’s downloading whatever it needs and I just had my first encounter with it writing this comment.

When I first opened settings it said this:

View attachment 2485339
Apparently my iPhone was set to UK English. I changed that and it said this:

View attachment 2485340
From there on I opened the link regarding supported languages.
When I came back it said this( without changing my region to the US):

View attachment 2485341
It still says that 3 hours later. I was wondering if it actually was doing anything because image playground and whatnot don’t show up. Well, but this did:

View attachment 2485343

I’ll let it finish whatever it’s doing and restart my phone in the morning and see what that does.

Guess I’ll be able to make that feedback after all…

Edit: this makes things clearer trying to use AI features in notes

View attachment 2485349

Cool, by any chance what brand USB C hub did you use? Mines was an Amazon brand Lionwei one.

Your region and language settings are correct. Just wait for overnight or a few hours for all the generative capabilities of Apple Intelligence to be downloaded to your iPhone. To check the progress, go to the Apple Intelligence settings, check the iPhone storage, and scroll all the way down to the bottom in iOS system files. Tap on it to see if Apple Intelligence is fully loaded. If it is, it should be at least 6-7GB. Patience is key, my friend.

 

[SilverSpooned]

Oh no, a prepaid cellular plan?! Are you serious? This might be tricky to set up an eSIM. I’ve never seen an iPhone user do this before to set up an eSIM from a prepaid phone card. But I found this helpful webpage from Straight Talk’s website for their prepaid customers: https://support.straighttalk.com/en/brands/Blu/STBLB130DG/faq/3104721/

Check it out and after reading this article, I think you should skip the eSIM prompt during setup and do these steps from your carrier after the iPhone 16e is set up. Also, I highly recommend calling your carrier to make sure your plan can transfer over from physical to eSIM. They can help you and you can also ask for a QR code to be sent to you if you want, have the IMEIs ready.

I went ahead and looked at the Straight Talk website to see if it was possible to convert my physical sim to an esim on my existing phone, and when inputting my IMEI number it refused to show any further steps and said it was incompatible, but, my iphone 13 shows an "Add Esim" option.

 

[goldmac2006]

I went ahead and looked at the Straight Talk website to see if it was possible to convert my physical sim to an esim on my existing phone, and when inputting my IMEI number it refused to show any further steps and said it was incompatible, but, my iphone 13 shows an "Add Esim" option.

Did you call your carrier for further assistance? Better be ready before you get stranded with setting up eSIM on the new iPhone.

 

[SilverSpooned]

Did you call your carrier for further assistance? Better be ready before you get stranded with setting up eSIM on the new iPhone.

No. I will probably just get a new carrier and buy the phone with the carrier. See my other thread I posted for questions, since I have questions about those.

 

[goldmac2006]

No. I will probably just get a new carrier and buy the phone with the carrier. See my other thread I posted for questions, since I have questions about those.

I understand, I saw your post about it. I’m currently swamped with other commitments, so I am going to pass the mic to an iPhone 16 Pro ally I know around the forums to answer your question. I also can’t provide a detailed explanation for your eSIM situation until at a later time 🕰️ my apologies 👊

 

[goldmac2006]

15 pro users we still ain't getting visual intelligence as an Action Button Action! Probs the real release of 18.4 will bring it. Video shows folks who got the iPhone 16e launch day today got Visual Intelligence on Action Button:

 

[SilverSpooned]

I understand, I saw your post about it. I’m currently swamped with other commitments, so I am going to pass the mic to an iPhone 16 Pro ally I know around the forums to answer your question. I also can’t provide a detailed explanation for your eSIM situation until at a later time 🕰️ my apologies 👊

I went to Verizon today and asked about eSIM and it was confirmed that they won't be able to do what I want them to do, which is to do pre-paid eSIM, and plus they quoted an outrageous figure of $75 a month through a post paid account. That was absolutely unhelpful to me what Verizon said, but at least I can rule one thing out.

 

[BigBlur]

I went to Verizon today and asked about eSIM and it was confirmed that they won't be able to do what I want them to do, which is to do pre-paid eSIM, and plus they quoted an outrageous figure of $75 a month through a post paid account. That was absolutely unhelpful to me what Verizon said, but at least I can rule one thing out.

They lied, or there was a misunderstanding somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if the reps are trained to push postpaid plans though.

Verizon's website says you can use eSIM with prepaid plans, and the 16e is listed as a compatible device.

Bring Your Own Device to Verizon Prepaid (BYOD)

Keep the phone you love and enjoy prepaid service from Verizon. Learn how to BYOD to Verizon prepaid today.

www.verizon.com

 

[SilverSpooned]

They lied, or there was a misunderstanding somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if the reps are trained to push postpaid plans though.

Verizon's website says you can use eSIM with prepaid plans, and the 16e is listed as a compatible device.

Bring Your Own Device to Verizon Prepaid (BYOD)

Keep the phone you love and enjoy prepaid service from Verizon. Learn how to BYOD to Verizon prepaid today.

www.verizon.com

If what I am looking at here is possible, then it turns out that the person blatantly lied to me when I went there as he said that eSims are not possible with prepaid plans.

What I am concerned about here is Auto Pay. I want to do the prepaid cards each month, the physical cards to buy at the store, fill in the number and reload manually each month which is what I do now.

 

[BigBlur]

If what I am looking at here is possible, then it turns out that the person blatantly lied to me when I went there as he said that eSims are not possible with prepaid plans.

What I am concerned about here is Auto Pay. I want to do the prepaid cards each month, the physical cards to buy at the store, fill in the number and reload manually each month which is what I do now.

Auto Pay is optional. If you do Auto Pay, you get the $10 discount right away. If you don't use Auto Pay, then you need to wait until the loyalty discount kicks in ($5 discount after three months, and $10 discount after nine months).

 

[SilverSpooned]

Auto Pay is optional. If you do Auto Pay, you get the $10 discount right away. If you don't use Auto Pay, then you need to wait until the loyalty discount kicks in ($5 discount after three months, and $10 discount after nine months).

Also looking into AT&T as well here. I don't think Verizon is going to have me as a customer when my first experience with them is them blatantly lying to me when I explained my question to them.

The issue that I see, is in videos of Esim activations and stuff, it is always transferring Esim to another phone, when what I want to do is setup a brand new phone number, and the Esim for the very first time.

 

[goldmac2006]

I went to Verizon today and asked about eSIM and it was confirmed that they won't be able to do what I want them to do, which is to do pre-paid eSIM, and plus they quoted an outrageous figure of $75 a month through a post paid account. That was absolutely unhelpful to me what Verizon said, but at least I can rule one thing out.

If what I am looking at here is possible, then it turns out that the person blatantly lied to me when I went there as he said that eSims are not possible with prepaid plans.

What I am concerned about here is Auto Pay. I want to do the prepaid cards each month, the physical cards to buy at the store, fill in the number and reload manually each month which is what I do now.

With the carrier you intend to use, I heard that you can use the refill cards from the shops to pay for the prepaid Verizon plans instead of using a credit or debit card. This can work with autopay, which allows you to save $10 per month instead of paying the bill later.

I personally use autopay for my postpaid T-Mobile plan for my 15 Pro, as it’s required by my plan. However, before you consider this option, there’s a built-in IMEI checker that @BigBlur linked with the Verizon website link that you can use to verify if the prepaid Verizon SIM card works for your new iPhone. If your iPhone has arrived yet, you should have it already, as the release date landed while you were away from here. 😄

 

[goldmac2006]

Hey, iPhone 15 Pro users and all those with Apple Intelligence! Guess what? The long-awaited visual intelligence feature is finally here! It’s available in iOS 18.4 beta 2, and you can install the developer beta and set it up on your action button, Lock Screen, or control center.

Here’s a link to the full instructions from Apple: https://support.apple.com/en-in/guide/iphone/iph12eb1545e/18.0/ios/18.0#iph66d0ca176

If you’re an iPhone 15 Pro user, follow the instructions on the website for the 16e users to add visual intelligence to your iPhone after you update to 18.4. I tried it out a few times, and it’s really cool!