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Apple SIM

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Re: Apple SIM

#141

Post by jboles »

morganvachon wrote: post #94
kylec wrote: post #12

This isn't new, the Apple SIM has been around since 2014: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_SIM

And it still doesn't work properly with every carrier. I bought a new, unlocked iPad Mini 4 that came with the Apple SIM, and no carrier would activate it. I finally got it working on Ting after getting one of Ting's SIM cards and lots of back-and-forth between Ting and Apple Support.

I think it is only intended to work with Apple’s partner carriers. I wanted to add my iPad to my AT&T data service and I could not use the built in SIM. Instead AT&T sent one for free. The iPad has a separate SIM slot and I imagine it will have to until the built in SIM is truly universal.

Re: Apple SIM

#142

Post by josteink »

megy wrote: post #85
swiley wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know many thinkpads have an empty bay with a minipci connector that you can put modems in which do just that. I don't know why things like that aren't popular, I guess it looks "ugly?"

Because a tiny portion of people would use it. Who wants to pay an extra monthly cost on their machine? The only people who would really do this are ones where it is covered by work.

> Who wants to pay an extra monthly cost on their machine?

It's not an extra cost when you get a twin-SIM for your regular subscription. You obviously have to pay extra to have the modem though.

Source: Owner of Thinkpad Carbon X1 with built in 4G-moden and twin-SIM from my cellular provider.

Re: Apple SIM

#143

Post by josteink »

How is this better than simply having... A SIM-card in your phone or tablet?

A SIM-card is something you can swap and replace in less than 30 seconds, and 100% decouples your device from your cellular provider. The way things should be. It's hardware so it's portable. It's standardized so it's interoperable and works with all equipment, from all vendors.

Why does Apple need to re-invent this?

Why would I want to replace something 1. which works, 2. is industry standard and 3. has proven itself for more than two decades... With something which is 1. not industry-standard but Apple-only and 2. not proven?

What on earth would compel anyone to make such a stupid trade-off? How stupid would you have to be to think this is a good thing?

Re: Apple SIM

#144

Post by josteink »

cosmie wrote: post #107
ivanstojic wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe the above commenter talks about the ease/pricing of Fi as much as the experience. I'm using Fi on my iPhone (and have for a while) - and it works worldwide for $10 / 1Gb. It's actually downright magical compared to other offers (even the Apple SIM powered ones).

The ease with T Mobile is there too. I pay $50/month for my plan, and calls, text, and data effectively works seamlessly in ~160 countries. If I want faster data in some of those countries, I can pay $10 extra. Google Fi is $20/month for voice and text, plus a variable $10/month per GB up to 6GB where it caps out at $80/month. Note that I'm not arguing against you, just wanted to clarify that the t mobile experience…

Is 6GB seriously the best Google has to offer? I'm on a 7GB monthly plan and I find that limiting...

I guess we have different standards here in Europe.

Re: Apple SIM

#145

Post by josteink »

jboles wrote: post #141
morganvachon wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it still doesn't work properly with every carrier. I bought a new, unlocked iPad Mini 4 that came with the Apple SIM, and no carrier would activate it. I finally got it working on Ting after getting one of Ting's SIM cards and lots of back-and-forth between Ting and Apple Support.

I think it is only intended to work with Apple’s partner carriers. I wanted to add my iPad to my AT&T data service and I could not use the built in SIM. Instead AT&T sent one for free. The iPad has a separate SIM slot and I imagine it will have to until the built in SIM is truly universal.

> The iPad has a separate SIM slot and I imagine it will have to until the built in SIM is truly universal.

Or you know... In the rest of the world, people actually ask for SIM cards, physical cards, because they are portable, and 100% certifiably decouples your device from your cellular provider.

Why on earth would I have something hidden inside... Which may or may not be interoperable... Which I cannot take and use with other devices if I need to? Which I cannot easily replace with a new one, from any carrier in the world?

Re: Apple SIM

#146

Post by nikon »

voltagex_ wrote: post #119
dzhiurgis wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$10 buys you unlimited LTE in like half europe. If you can actually get these plans using Apple SIM - it’d be order of magnitude cheaper.

I ended up using a reseller in Australia to get an "EE" SIM for an upcoming trip - feeling like I've been ripped off here as I paid significantly more than $10 Most of the prepaid SIMs I saw had heavy restrictions on tethering - can you point me in the right direction?

Are you travelling to the UK? There are loads of SIM cards for sale in arrivals, including EE.

Re: Apple SIM

#147

Post by singularity2001 »

josteink wrote: post #143

How is this better than simply having... A SIM-card in your phone or tablet? A SIM-card is something you can swap and replace in less than 30 seconds, and 100% decouples your device from your cellular provider. The way things should be. It's hardware so it's portable. It's standardized so it's interoperable and works with all equipment, from all vendors. Why does Apple need to re-invent this? Why would I want to repl…

it might be helpful if you go abroad and your roaming options suck. otherwise agree. in new iPad it's not builtin, that's good.

Re: Apple SIM

#148

Post by larrysalibra »

josteink wrote: post #144
cosmie wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ease with T Mobile is there too. I pay $50/month for my plan, and calls, text, and data effectively works seamlessly in ~160 countries. If I want faster data in some of those countries, I can pay $10 extra. Google Fi is $20/month for voice and text, plus a variable $10/month per GB up to 6GB where it caps out at $80/month. Note that I'm not arguing against you, just wanted to clarify that the t mobile experience…

Is 6GB seriously the best Google has to offer? I'm on a 7GB monthly plan and I find that limiting... I guess we have different standards here in Europe.

It doesn't stop at 6 gb, they stop charging you for data at 6 gb. It's "free" after that.

Re: Apple SIM

#149

Post by jboles »

josteink wrote: post #145
jboles wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is only intended to work with Apple’s partner carriers. I wanted to add my iPad to my AT&T data service and I could not use the built in SIM. Instead AT&T sent one for free. The iPad has a separate SIM slot and I imagine it will have to until the built in SIM is truly universal.

> The iPad has a separate SIM slot and I imagine it will have to until the built in SIM is truly universal. Or you know... In the rest of the world, people actually ask for SIM cards, physical cards, because they are portable, and 100% certifiably decouples your device from your cellular provider. Why on earth would I have something hidden inside... Which may or may not be interoperable... Which I cannot take and use…

Not disagreeing with you. It would suck if Apple ever removed the slot, but it would be par for the course for them.

Re: Apple SIM

#150

Post by cosmie »

josteink wrote: post #144
cosmie wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ease with T Mobile is there too. I pay $50/month for my plan, and calls, text, and data effectively works seamlessly in ~160 countries. If I want faster data in some of those countries, I can pay $10 extra. Google Fi is $20/month for voice and text, plus a variable $10/month per GB up to 6GB where it caps out at $80/month. Note that I'm not arguing against you, just wanted to clarify that the t mobile experience…

Is 6GB seriously the best Google has to offer? I'm on a 7GB monthly plan and I find that limiting... I guess we have different standards here in Europe.

As Larrysalibra said, 6GB is basically just the threshold for where you go from paying per GB to it being unlimited. If you use 3GB, you'll be charged $30 for saga. If you use 6GB, you'll be charged $60 for data, and if you use 9GB or 18GB or 30 GB you'll still only be charged $60 for data.
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