iPhone 15/Plus iPhone 15 no physical sim card

[Konrad]

New replacement phone for the kid. Now a reg 15 and no SIM card of course. Already wasted 20 minutes to talk to the carrier which needs to be provided with the EMEI number first. What a pain. Adversely, I can take out and reinsert a sim in about 15 seconds without having to do anything else. Also, I just noticed there is a surcharge for not tapping into the Apple contracted providers. The smell of Cuba or North Korea at full swing. Apple rep confirmed a vast number of complaints from the US market consumers. What a bunch of *****….

 

[now i see it]

Yes eSIM does suck but it prevents a life-destroying attack: SIM hijacking. So the pain of eSIM is worth it - as annoying as it is.

 

[Jackbequickly]

New to this rodeo. Brought an iPhone 15 home with a sim card from T Mobile (?) only to discover that there is no physical sim card slot. Not for me. Returning the phone tomorrow. This business with the e sim card is too much - especially for travel outside the US. Somebody convince me about the wonders and convenience of having an e sim card in my phone as opposed to a physical one. Apple continues to disappoint. They seem motivated to lose customers - even formerly faithful ones.

Sooner or later eSim will be the standard. No way around it.

 

[rocketbuc]

New replacement phone for the kid. Now a reg 15 and no SIM card of course. Already wasted 20 minutes to talk to the carrier which needs to be provided with the EMEI number first. What a pain. Adversely, I can take out and reinsert a sim in about 15 seconds without having to do anything else. Also, I just noticed there is a surcharge for not tapping into the Apple contracted providers. The smell of Cuba or North Korea at full swing. Apple rep confirmed a vast number of complaints from the US market consumers. What a bunch of *****….

I am very surprised to hear that. Who is charging you more because you are not using Apple contracted providers?

 

[Konrad]

I am very surprised to hear that. Who is charging you more because you are not using Apple contracted providers?

In the the past there was just one price from Apple for an open phone. The current prices are conditional. The carrier of “your choice” requires an extra cost.

 

[now i see it]

Yes. New Unlocked iPhones always cost more. Always has been that way.

 

[minimo3]

Yes. New Unlocked iPhones always cost more. Always has been that way.

The extra $30 “fee” for buying the unlocked model started with the iPhone 12

 

[Devyn89]

New replacement phone for the kid. Now a reg 15 and no SIM card of course. Already wasted 20 minutes to talk to the carrier which needs to be provided with the EMEI number first. What a pain. Adversely, I can take out and reinsert a sim in about 15 seconds without having to do anything else. Also, I just noticed there is a surcharge for not tapping into the Apple contracted providers. The smell of Cuba or North Korea at full swing. Apple rep confirmed a vast number of complaints from the US market consumers. What a bunch of *****….

Yes, not having a SIM card tray is just like an oppressive dictatorship. Sigh.

 

[rocketbuc]

In the the past there was just one price from Apple for an open phone. The current prices are conditional. The carrier of “your choice” requires an extra cost.

Thank you @Konrad. I was not aware of this as I am living in Switzerland. It's different over here.

 

[ukms]

In the the past there was just one price from Apple for an open phone. The current prices are conditional. The carrier of “your choice” requires an extra cost.

Depends on which country you buy the phone, many countries are still a single price.

 

[Fred Zed]

Yes, not having a SIM card tray is just like an oppressive dictatorship. Sigh.

Totally agreed, it’s like something china or Russia does to its people. 😂

 

[ukms]

Yes, not having a SIM card tray is just like an oppressive dictatorship. Sigh.

Get real ! ...... Have you ever lived under an oppressive dictatorship ? Its called evolution of technology.

 

[Devyn89]

Get real ! ...... Have you ever lived under an oppressive dictatorship ? Its called evolution of technology.

It was sarcasm.

 

[ukms]

It was sarcasm.

Well ..... you never know on this forum

 

[platinumaqua]

New to this rodeo. Brought an iPhone 15 home with a sim card from T Mobile (?) only to discover that there is no physical sim card slot. Not for me. Returning the phone tomorrow. This business with the e sim card is too much - especially for travel outside the US. Somebody convince me about the wonders and convenience of having an e sim card in my phone as opposed to a physical one. Apple continues to disappoint. They seem motivated to lose customers - even formerly faithful ones.

There is a convenience factor for Apple. eSIM increases friction for switching to Android because there’s no easy switch and will involve going to the carrier‘s support page, and they hope you’ll get another iPhone instead of trying to deal with the process

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I personally don't mind either way as I have used one esim daily, organized one when overseas and have a physical one, not really being used with a stand-by pre-paid account. Perhaps it's about having choices but for me it's just another spring loaded point of failure.

A: I will however add that having sim cards in situ really shouldn't cause problems if not constantly removed.

B: NFC esim transfer wasn't possible with my provider when my ph was replaced. An inconvenience that's rare.

 

[rmanbike]

This phone was to be for my wife. An upgrade from the 12. She will be staying with that for a while. I will also be living with my lovable, now old school, 13 mini. Always changes. There is no necessary correlation between change and progress. Sometimes simple is best. Being PUSHED to a "new" technology is not always thrilling as a customer. I believe Google's Pixel has an option both for physical and e sims. Why not Apple? Can't fight it though. Echoing the words of Henry Ford, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Written on my trusty MBP M2.

how is your 13 mini "old school" ?

 

[Baldy51]

on a good note, the old physical sim slot was another possible weak point to water flood: i believe they upped the water resistance once they got rid of the silicon protected sim slot. Also, even 3rd world countries easily adopted esim by now - you just walk in and walk out with a local sim card - if the country doesn't have an esim option for tourists/locals, maybe then we should not go/be there in the first place?

I live in Ireland and only one carrier does esim, so a physical sim is the way to go.

 

[BranClark]

I personally don't mind either way as I have used one esim daily, organized one when overseas and have a physical one, not really being used with a stand-by pre-paid account. Perhaps it's about having choices but for me it's just another spring loaded point of failure.

A: I will however add that having sim cards in situ really shouldn't cause problems if not constantly removed.

B: NFC esim transfer wasn't possible with my provider when my ph was replaced. An inconvenience that's rare.

I completely agree with you! Having choices is definitely a plus, but when it comes to eSIMs vs physical SIMs, it's all about personal preference. I've had my fair share of experiences with both, and I think you're right, having SIM cards in situ shouldn't cause problems if not constantly removed.

And yeah, I've heard of cases where NFC eSIM transfer wasn't possible with certain providers, which can be a real inconvenience. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

[nebo1ss]

I believe it's only in the US that Apple sells phones without physical SIM card slots. My 15 pro max has a sim slot. I have an Esim for local use in the UK but also have a physical time for when I travel. The advantage of a physical SIM is that I can swop sims into different phones very easily.

 

[cousintim]

Realistically, hardly anybody uses mmW because it can't penetrate buildings. Even Apple acknowledges this by removing mmW in the latest M4 iPad Pro in U.S. models.

Airports and stadiums.