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Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

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Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#381

Post by lostlogin »

k8sToGo wrote: post #379
conradev wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me, there is nothing to indicate this is a power grab by Apple. Google supports eSIM. Google can sell you cell service for your iPhone from the couch. If any phone manufacturer is trying to compete with the carriers, it would look a lot like Google, which made a global MVNO. Yes, there is usually a business motive behind every business decision. The GSMA makes it sound like the carriers want it, as well as the pho…

I imported my Pixel 5 to Switzerland which is technically not supported. Had to switch my esim to a physician because the esim didn't want to activate and also didn't get regonized by the phone. So much about support and independence.

> Had to switch my esim to a physician

I assume that’s an autocorrect? I like it.

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#382

Post by aorth »

sandworm101 wrote: post #253
tablespoon wrote: post #193

I don't like it. Having a physical object the embodies your phone's identity is a lot easier to deal with in many ways than an ethereal emulation of said object. For instance, if I'm traveling I can just buy a SIM card at a kiosk and pop it in, even if I can only communicate through little more than pointing and grunting. Another example: I got a new phone recently, but since all my stuff was still on my old phone, a…

>> For instance, if I'm traveling I can just buy a SIM card at a kiosk and pop it in That is exactly what apple doesn't want you to do. They don't want users making deals with local ISPs for service. They want in on that transaction. Virtual SIMs, controlled by phone manufacturers, will allow them to exercise a degree of control over wandering users. If you are a local ISP, you better be part of the program if you wa…

I don't understand. I can get an eSIM from my telecom provider and scan it with a QR Code to activate it in Android. I've done this with Telenor in Europe and Zain in the Middle East. It works great. I can even switch between them on the fly!

How does the phone manufacturer have anything to do with it? My only wish is to support multiple eSIMs, as now I only have one physical SIM slot and one eSIM.

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#383

Post by dehrmann »

CharlesW wrote: post #296
sandworm101 wrote: post #245

No headphone jack. No SD slot. Soon no charging port (wireless). Now no sim car. How soon before there are no plugs whatsoever? Once everything is wireless then apple, through software, can finally take absolute control over how and what is connected to their phones. Want to communicate with or even charge an iPhone? You better be running approved and licensed software. Then the phone can be physically locked like a…

> How soon before there are no plugs whatsoever? 2023. Apple's been telegraphing the move to portless non-"pro" devices for years now. > Want to communicate with or even charge an iPhone? You better be running approved and licensed software. In fact, charging options will finally be standard across their product line — Qi for non-pro devices, USB-C for pro devices. Communication will happen via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and…

This explains why Apple's been dragging its feet on switching from Lightning to USB-C. No sense switching if you're killing it in a few years, and it can only anger customers.

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#384

Post by feupan »

mschuster91 wrote: post #369
feupan wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that the risk is more about stealing the number more than reprogramming it. If I can move my eSIM to a new phone, so can an attacker.

> If I can move my eSIM to a new phone, so can an attacker. No, they can't - there is (at least for modern SIM cards and eSIM modules, see [1]) no way short of decapping the chip to extract the secret keys once they are on the chip, and even de-capping is something that the chip industry has gotten pretty good on defending against. An attacker would have to request a new eSIM profile (aka, new keys) from your provide…

I don’t know how you can say they can’t. The eSIM is just a number. An attacker can install it exactly the same way I did: I copy-pasted some numbers from an eSIM provider’s app.

I’m not talking about getting the number from the phone, but directly from the operator.

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#385

Post by kanbara »

klabb3 wrote: post #367
pieterhg wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This hasn't been my experience. I use only eSIMs now on an iPhone 13. I buy eSIMs via Airalo's iOS app (not affiliated, not an ad but love it). It takes me 30 seconds from buying an eSIM in any country worldwide from their app, paying with Apple Pay, to having it active and working with data and voice line. I travel a lot and before it'd take 15 minutes to sometimes an hour of driving to a phone shop or finding it at…

What happens when you have more than the 2 active? Can they still be stored on the phone and reactivated in the future?

yep, you can have multiple eSIM and just swap on the fly

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#386

Post by gretch »

deep-root wrote: post #266
Nbox9 wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Having a physical object the embodies your phone's identity A SIM is not a embodiment of an iPhone’s identity. Maybe it was in the 90s, but today it’s so much more. The SIM is more like your iPhone’s credentials for accessing one network. You can change SIMs, change your access token for one network, but you are making no bigger impact on your phone’s “identity” than if you were to change Wi-Fi networks. List of Id…

They were correct. They're saying your phone service identity (I am X number on Y network plan). Not your personal identity (pictures of your kids and passwords). Today if your phone fails, you can pop a sim in another phone and regain your phone service identity within minutes. No SIM, it could take days or even weeks.

> Today if your phone fails, you can pop a sim in another phone and regain your phone service identity within minutes. No SIM, it could take days or even weeks.

This doesn’t make any sense. Anything that can be done using a physical sim, you can do faster with e-sim (input data into fields).

What if you don’t have another physical sim ready to go? It’s the middle of the night and stores are closed. Your car won’t start. You lost your wallet and don’t have currency. Traveling in a foreign nation and don’t know where the SIM store is. (Yes these are extreme situations, but that’s exactly when you need your phone to work)

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#387

Post by vkk8 »

tablespoon wrote: post #193

I don't like it. Having a physical object the embodies your phone's identity is a lot easier to deal with in many ways than an ethereal emulation of said object. For instance, if I'm traveling I can just buy a SIM card at a kiosk and pop it in, even if I can only communicate through little more than pointing and grunting. Another example: I got a new phone recently, but since all my stuff was still on my old phone, a…

> And my money is that they'll use whatever volume they free up to mindlessly make the phone thinner.

For some reason this is what the phone manufacturers seem to think that people want and I don't know why. I don't think getting thinner and smaller phones has given me any extra value in the past decade. I would rather have a thicker phone with bigger battery.

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#388

Post by lotsofpulp »

deep-root wrote: post #378
lotsofpulp wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the similarity to Verizon CDMA non SIM days if the phone is not locked to a carrier? Connecting to ATT/Verizon/T-Mobile/Vodafone should be as easy as choosing a Wifi Network.

In the CDMA days your non-carrier locked phone had trouble handling travel across the US, and forget about service in another country. Carriers (Verizon and Sprint?) tried to improve it, but never really worked and the expense was high.

ATT/Tmobile users did not have a problem with service in another country, as they were not CDMA.

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#389

Post by sandworm101 »

saltminer wrote: post #337
sandworm101 wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My android phone still has a USB port on it that comports with USB standards. Google cannot limit which devices can charge my phone, which USB cables I use to tether my devices.

Actually, they can, and do. The Pixel 6 will not charge with cables and chargers Google deems "low quality", which seems to be anything that doesn't meet the USB-C spec. https://9to5google.com/2021/11/29/pixel-6-reject-charging-ca...

The phone rejects non-spec cables, cables that might actually harm the phone. It doesnt reject cables based on manufacturer. Google doesnt own the spec.

Re: Apple said to be preparing for iPhones without SIM card slot in 2022

#390

Post by vgchh »

Frankly, I am happy to hear about this upcoming change. It is true that it’s easy to pop in/out a physical SIM. But I am hoping/projecting that eSIM will become equally easy to plop in the future soon after this change. In return, purely from an engineering perspective I am glad to have one less part. Sort of like the gigapress eliminating a bunch of parts in the car manufacturing
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