The Apple SIM is removable.

[Techhog]

There seems to be a lot of confusion on this, so I figured a separate thread was needed to clarify. Here's a quote from an article on The Verge:

 

 

Finally, with the iPad Air 2 and mini 3, Apple has decided to start making its move by using a reprogrammable SIM that can be taken from carrier to carrier, switching networks and pricing plans through user-friendly software alone. It's called "Apple SIM." Not every carrier is on board yet — Apple SIM is still removable, and carrier-bought iPads will use regular, locked SIMs — but the writing is on the wall. The wounds are mortal. Within a year or two, you'll probably never see a SIM card in an Apple product again. You may not even see a tray.

 

According to the article, it' suspected that this is the first stepping stone in Apple's completely fucking stupid plan to kill the SIM card, but the Apple SIM is still a physical nano-SIM. If you need more proof, this is from Apple's own page on the iPad Air 2:

 

 

The new Apple SIM is preinstalled on iPad Air 2 with Wi-Fi + Cellular models.

 

Moral of the story: Don't use only one source as gospel. I mean, aren't any of you curious about why this news hasn't blown up in a significant way?

[Tech_Dreamer]

PEW PEW.. Shots fired..

[AlexGoesHigh]

so the verge did update their article after i wrote that, and made myself made look like an idiot *sigh* -___-

[Dietrichw]

I thought people just overlooked it to hate on Apple because there wasn't anything else to hate about until the bending video. 

[Syntaxvgm]

I never said it was not. In fact, I specifically said it was. They use special sims that cos $$ to replace, and AT&T can still go fuck a cactus. 

[Wano97]

It doesn't surprise me that this news hasn't blown up. When something good happens with Apple, nobody mentions it. When Apple does something bad, the world is upside down

[AlexGoesHigh]

I never said it was not. In fact, I specifically said it was. They use special sims that cos $$ to replace, and AT&T can still go fuck a cactus. 

i think it should be the other way get fucked by a cactus, that sure be more painful

[Syntaxvgm]

It doesn't surprise me that this news hasn't blown up. When something good happens with Apple, nobody mentions it. When Apple does something bad, the world is upside down

This is about AT&T locking it so you have the buy a new apple sim card to switch carriers, despite the thing being re-writable through the device

[Trik'Stari]

[Sousuke]

Well this has been a while coming as the sim is really only a chip that holds a few numbers ... no real need these days to have a bulky sim anymore. 

[Dietrichw]

This is about AT&T locking it so you have the buy a new apple sim card to switch carriers, despite the thing being re-writable through the device

It would have been cool if At&t didn't permanently write the card. It would be much easier to switch if you could have multiple profiles without having to keep a bunch of sims like SD cards

[Syntaxvgm]

It would have been cool if At&t didn't permanently write the card. It would be much easier to switch if you could have multiple profiles without having to keep a bunch of sims like SD cards

Yah. These dicks are doing this just to spite leaving customers. 

[Syntaxvgm]

i think it should be the other way get fucked by a cactus, that sure be more painful

No, then it's a threat. 

[qwertywarrior]

so wait

they are just reprogrammable?

what the point ?

simcards arnt expensive

[Syntaxvgm]

so wait

they are just reprogrammable?

what the point ?

simcards arnt expensive

They are both removable and re-programmable. 

Unless you go with AT&T

they make it read only. 

Since the sim card is apple specific, it likely isn't cheap to order a new one when you switch from AT&T

 Apple does one thing right and AT&T buttfucks its customers

[Sousuke]

Apple should just say nah, ship the devices with a blank sim and tell AT&T To provide their own at their expense if they want to lock it. What are AT&T Going to do? Apple is a large part of its customer base. 

[Techhog]

Well this has been a while coming as the sim is really only a chip that holds a few numbers ... no real need these days to have a bulky sim anymore. 

First of all, have you seen the slice of hell that is the nano-SIM? Second, no, just no. It'll make the situation with locked devices even worse than it is now and basically revive everything bad about CDMA. Smaller carriers will be fucked. Changing phones will be a longer process, requiring you to contact your carrier (either by phone or a utility on their website) instead of just switching the SIM. Frankly, people who are on favor of this fall into two camps:

1. Apple fanboys
2. People who just want everything physical to die and won't be satisfied until all computers are replaced by a brain chip

Both camps are short-sighted and unwilling to consider what could possibly happen as a result. Hell, some of you go as far as inventing possible pros which don't make any sense to people who think about it for more than 2 seconds.

[Techhog]

Apple should just say nah, ship the devices with a blank sim and tell AT&T To provide their own at their expense if they want to lock it. What are AT&T Going to do? Apple is a large part of its customer base. 

The problem is that T-Mobile is doing it too, and I'd assume Sprint as well, though I haven't seen anything about it. Nobody mentioned T-Mobile though, because people here generally look for bigger targets. This is coming from a T-Mobile customer btw.

[Sousuke]

What I am thinking of is yes have the sim card locked during a contract, meaning if the carriers give you the phone on contract then the phone stays locked to them however the second that contract is over the customer should have a choice to stay or go.

 

What the Apple Sim would achieve is a easy and painless way for someone to do that after a contract has ended.

 

I worked for a Mobile Network in the UK (EE) and Sim Cards are a PAIN in the arse. I want them to be abolished as its just something else to go wrong and is pointless these days.

 

Here is an outline of what I think the Apple Sim should be able to achieve to be relevant:

 

1. Auto Unlocking once contract is over with no unlocking fee.
2. Easy configuration between the network and the Sim meaning that its all automatic.
3. Sim would be 100% Integrated into one of the SOC meaning that it wouldn't fail.
4. Give the owners who are now out of contract an easy way to test out new networks without tying them down to a contract.
5. Show customers the best deals they can get.

I think that the 5 points above need about another 2-3 years before the Apple Sim will be something that I could put my support for. I am NOT An Apple Fanboy (Do you think that an Apple fanboy would have an android device?).

 

Also getting rid of large and bulky components are just the way it works these days, SoCs, CPUs EVERY Component is being made smaller and smaller and I would like to see the extra room not used for "Thinness" but for a larger battery/optics for the camera. 

[Techhog]

What I am thinking of is yes have the sim card locked during a contract, meaning if the carriers give you the phone on contract then the phone stays locked to them however the second that contract is over the customer should have a choice to stay or go.

 

What the Apple Sim would achieve is a easy and painless way for someone to do that after a contract has ended.

 

I worked for a Mobile Network in the UK (EE) and Sim Cards are a PAIN in the arse. I want them to be abolished as its just something else to go wrong and is pointless these days.

 

Here is an outline of what I think the Apple Sim should be able to achieve to be relevant:

 

1. Auto Unlocking once contract is over with no unlocking fee. Nothing stopping that now except carriers
2. Easy configuration between the network and the Sim meaning that its all automatic. Nothing stopping that from working with existing universal SIMs
3. Sim would be 100% Integrated into one of the SOC meaning that it wouldn't fail. Who the fuck has heard of a SIM failing?
4. Give the owners who are now out of contract an easy way to test out new networks without tying them down to a contract. See point 1
5. Show customers the best deals they can get. See point 4

I think that the 5 points above need about another 2-3 years before the Apple Sim will be something that I could put my support for. I am NOT An Apple Fanboy (Do you think that an Apple fanboy would have an android device?).

 

Also getting rid of large and bulky components are just the way it works these days, SoCs, CPUs EVERY Component is being made smaller and smaller and I would like to see the extra room not used for "Thinness" but for a larger battery/optics for the camera. "large and bulky" A fucking baby mouse could eat a nanoSIM in one bite

SIMs are what killed the hell that is CDMA in most of the world. The fact that you're in the UK means that you probably don't really know much about that hell. Killing SIM cards is a step backwards. Admittedly, you wouldn't be affected much, but the US would be fucked completely. It would be the end of unlocked phones here, essentially.

[zacRupnow]

Except all the cell carriers will lock the tray

[LukaP]

SIMs are what killed the hell that is CDMA in most of the world. The fact that you're in the UK means that you probably don't really know much about that hell. Killing SIM cards is a step backwards. Admittedly, you wouldn't be affected much, but the US would be fucked completely. It would be the end of unlocked phones here, essentially.

that is not the simcard though, that is the retarded carriers that are in the US. in the rest of the world, terms are normal, and nothing is locked, and the sim card is just a retarded chip that should have been gone with the first phone taht could hold more than 64kB of data....

 

so dont complain about apple killing sim. complain about carriers terms being so retarded you have to complain about killing the sim.

[Victorious Secret]

that is not the simcard though, that is the retarded carriers that are in the US. in the rest of the world, terms are normal, and nothing is locked, and the sim card is just a retarded chip that should have been gone with the first phone taht could hold more than 64kB of data....

 

so dont complain about apple killing sim. complain about carriers terms being so retarded you have to complain about killing the sim.

 

This...

 

All Apple did was make a SIM Card that will play nice with ANY carrier, making it so that you don't need to spend 20 bucks for a new one each time you want to switch, and instead putting the switching into software form. 

 

ATT is being ATT and it will bite them in the ass. 

 

It would've been one thing if the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 had "internal" SIM Cards that functioned like their CDMA counterparts, and then ATT was locking the device itself to their network. But that isn't the case. ATT is simply gimping the SIM Card. Go buy another one. Ideally, don't use ATT at all. 

[LukaP]

This...

 

All Apple did was make a SIM Card that will play nice with ANY carrier, making it so that you don't need to spend 20 bucks for a new one each time you want to switch, and instead putting the switching into software form. 

 

ATT is being ATT and it will bite them in the ass. 

 

It would've been one thing if the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 had "internal" SIM Cards that functioned like their CDMA counterparts, and then ATT was locking the device itself to their network. But that isn't the case. ATT is simply gimping the SIM Card. Go buy another one. Ideally, don't use ATT at all. 

ideally, Pretty much every US carrier would just die.

[Techhog]

that is not the simcard though, that is the retarded carriers that are in the US. in the rest of the world, terms are normal, and nothing is locked, and the sim card is just a retarded chip that should have been gone with the first phone taht could hold more than 64kB of data....

 

so dont complain about apple killing sim. complain about carriers terms being so retarded you have to complain about killing the sim.

There are other reasons why i want the SIM to stay as well. The only reason I've seen for getting rid of the SIM is that it's physical, and that's a stupid reason on its own. I know that I should complain about the carriers, but at the same time, I don't want it to become even easier for them with no actual benefit. SIMs are so small at this point that getting rid of them doesn't actually free up any battery space. Having to activate a phone to use it instead of using an already activated SIM, however, seems like more of a pain. Again, you people won't be satisfied until all forms of computing are replaced by brain chips.