It's time for Apple to remove the SIM card slot from the Pro models. No one needs it anymore. It's an old technology that takes up precious space inside the phone. Don't you agree?
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Other iPhone 17 Pro - No SIM card slot
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No I don’t agree. It makes it very easy when swapping phones.
It’s easy to convert it to an eSIM and to transfer it to another iPhone.
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Some carriers don't give a **** about eSim. With my carrier, it's not transferrable via iPhone. I have to get a new eSim.
No, but they have a placeholder occupying that space. Apple could rearrange and optimize the internals if no Pro models outside the US had a SIM card slot. No need for the logic board to be in that place, and no need for an L-shaped battery, for example.
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Irrelevant. I want the ease of putting my SIM card in any phone that I choose at any time I choose. eSIMs might work for you, and that’s great, but for me they don’t. I will always choose a physical SIM over an eSIM.
Provided that the system works correctly.
Yesterday while upgrading from 15 to 16, the eSIM transfer failed for both EE and O2. With O2, I ended up without service for several hours and had to call for them to issue manually a new eSIM.
Yet, last year moving from 14 to 15 was seemless.
So no, I don't think the SIM tray is ready to go despite mine being empty for three years.
If you travel internationally outside of the most advanced nations, you'd reach a different conclusion. There are many places where the best, most reliable, and cheapest way to access data and voice is inserting a SIM you bought at a local kiosk or even vending machine. (Looking at you, Vodacom, Telkom, and Telcel.)
But it’s a PITA to transfer it to a non-iPhone or from an Android to iPhone. Additionally, I would sometimes swap my sim into a dumb flip-phone when I was going backpacking for several days. Now I have a prepaid sim in it, since I can’t move my regular number anymore.
I think the SIM should have stayed. It’s just one more barrier to easily swapping carriers.
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it is silly two years after yoinking SIM cards in US, starting with iPhone 14 models, they still just put a random plastic block in there.
@thadoggfather not sure why we need to dig up this month old thread but have let's apply some simple logic.
They can't actually redesign the internal layout of the iPhone internals as long as they support iPhone units for other Major markets around the world that utilize Nano-SIM technology.
It is one set of internal layout vs a unique design for USA and another for the rest of the world. If you travel internationally you would understand that by not having a iPhone with a Nano-SIM slot you are limited in your Carrier options.
Dave
They can't actually redesign the internal layout of the iPhone internals as long as they support iPhone units for other Major markets around the world that utilize Nano-SIM technology.
It is one set of internal layout vs a unique design for USA and another for the rest of the world. If you travel internationally you would understand that by not having a iPhone with a Nano-SIM slot you are limited in your Carrier options.
Dave
Not sure why you’d be offended over a comment about a mass manufactured product
Nevermind the person before me posted today, no digging up on my side.
It’s Saturday - relax a little
Apple already did it with iPhone 15. The logic board components on U.S. models were laid out differently. They were spread out to use the empty space. It was inefficient and stupid, but they did it. There was no plastic spacer.
For iPhone 16, Apple reverted back to an optimized layout (similar to iPhone 14) and used a plastic spacer in the tray area.
It’s clear that Apple doesn’t want nano-SIM for U.S. models, not for efficiency or water resistance. The reason seems to be carrier control or potential commissions like the App Store.
Hmm I am not offended not sure why you might feel I am offended by @Aoligei re-awaking this thread.
It was not an optimized layout just returning to a common layout. The iPhone 15 experiment was a failure and Apple could not drive further eSIM adoption so back to a common design. Having support for both Nano-SIM and eSIM was the next logical design path as they utilized it in the iPhone 13 and 14 family.
It is still a major debate if Apple or the Major Carriers in the US drove the move to eSIM. So far Apple it appears just carried it to far to soon. There is not App Store commission or potential if the Carriers chose to use the Apple ecosystem Model to support eSIM but they chose to go a different way while they designed a more seamless solution that would work with their legacy systems.
Note: Apple did win on the Watch front with only eSIM support. It was not the Carriers as they are still struggling to make eSIM appear to work seamlessly and still failing.
Dave
Here are few things:
I don’t like Bell and I have no intention of using Bell.
I am Freedom Mobile users, they don’t support eSIM transfer.
I think keeping SIM tray is very important and it will be cumbersome for lots of people.
eSIM will be the standard very soon. The days of the Wild West are over. Big brother wants more control.