You Would Not Believe What Apple Replaced The Sim Card Tray With In The Iphone 14 Lineup

[Shagger]

15 minutes ago, Grungie said:

You can get rid of the physical SIM card and replace it with an eSIM card. You can swap carriers with eSIM cards, and store multiple carriers with eSIM cards. Instead of taking up space in your phone with dual SIM cards, (or store your other SIM card somewhere when it's not being used). 

The iPhone 14 utilizes an eSIM card, so your complaint about being trapped by your carrier is null (tbh you have to swap to a carrier that does support eSIMs, but as it becomes the new standard, it won't be an issue).

So honestly, it's actually more beneficial and convenient for international travelers. Though like I mentioned earlier, it looks like it's slim pickings outside of America at the moment:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209096

 

This is bullshit.

 

The "inconvenience" of using multiple physical SIMs is a very weak justification. Having to go through "the nightmare" that is switching SIM is hell of a lot better than not being able to switch at all.

 

Because that is the reality on these so-called eSIMs. An eSIM is not a SIM, it's a piece of DRM software that loads the data a SIM cards normally holds from a phone's stored memory. The problem with that is that a phones number, IP address, everything that identifies that as phone, not a device, is now hardcoded into the device. You think that they can't restrict you to a single carrier with it, trust me, they can, and they do. Hell, they've been doing that to phones with removable SIM cards for years! That's why you usually have to have a contract phone unlocked before you're able to switch network providers, something that the network providers have trying to stop for just as long. The whole purpose of this is to make the process of unlocking a phone more difficult, if not impossible, and lock people to network providers. As I said, they have been trying to stop people switching network providers on contract phones for as long as contract phones have been a thing, this is just the latest tactic.

 

And like you said, most countries only have one or two carries (if any) that even use this "eSIM" service, so that's already a restriction. The only reason America has more choice is because the choice is irrelevant there as they don't enforce net neutrality (Which is ridiculous, by the way), pretty much robbing Americans of a choice of what mobile carriers and ISP's they want to use based on whare they live. None of this is a coincidence, I mean just think about it. The network providers, the ISPs, Apple trying to popularise this technology and all them them rallying to end net neutrality, they all mesh and it's not a coincidence that they do. It's all about creating a world where these bastards can gouge thier customers for all they're worth. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out.

[Grungie]

4 minutes ago, Shagger said:

 

This is bullshit.

 

The "inconvenience" of using multiple physical SIMs is a very weak justification. Having to go through "the nightmare" that is switching SIM is hell of a lot better than not being able to switch at all.

 

Because that is the reality on these so-called eSIMs. An eSIM is not a SIM, it's a piece of DRM software that loads the data a SIM cards normally holds from a phone's stored memory. The problem with that is that a phones number, IP address, everything that identifies that as phone, not a device, is now hardcoded into the device. You think that they can't restrict you to a single carrier with it, trust me, they can, and they do. Hell, they've been doing that to phones with removable SIM cards for years! That's why you usually have to have a contract phone unlocked before you're able to switch network providers, something that the network providers have trying to stop for just as long. The whole purpose of this is to make the process of unlocking a phone more difficult, if not impossible, and lock people to network providers. As I said, they have been trying to stop people switching network providers on contract phones for as long as contract phones have been a thing, this is just the latest tactic.

 

And like you said, most countries only have one or two carries (if any) that even use this "eSIM" service, so that's already a restriction. The only reason America has more choice is because the choice is irrelevant there as they don't enforce net neutrality (Which is ridiculous, by the way), pretty much robbing Americans of a choice of what mobile carriers and ISP's they want to use based on whare they live. None of this is a coincidence, I mean just think about it. The network providers, the ISPs, Apple trying to popularise this technology and all them them rallying to end net neutrality, they all mesh and it's not a coincidence that they do. It's all about creating a world where these bastards can gouge thier customers for all they're worth. It doesn't take a genius to figure this out.

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-is-an-esim-card

Looks like the problem is through carrier resistance. It’s also annoying if you’re a phone reviewer, but that’s a job specific quirk. Cell carriers are annoyed by it, because there’s no physical foot traffic to their stores. eSIMS are also not carrier locked, unlike traditional SIMS, so you don’t have to go through your carrier to unlock your phone if you have an eSIM.

[Crazycrab]

16 minutes ago, Grungie said:

eSIMS are also not carrier locked, unlike traditional SIMS, so you don’t have to go through your carrier to unlock your phone if you have an eSIM.

 

THAT'S A TOTAL LIE!

 

The exact same pain in the ass process applies with eSIMS as they do with normal ones.  You need to unlock you phone if want to use an eSIM, or at least an eSIM from different carrier.

 

https://www.esim.net/helpdesk/knowledge-base/locked-phone/

Edited December 14, 2022 by Crazycrab

[Shagger]

1 hour ago, Grungie said:

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/what-is-an-esim-card

Looks like the problem is through carrier resistance. It’s also annoying if you’re a phone reviewer, but that’s a job specific quirk. Cell carriers are annoyed by it, because there’s no physical foot traffic to their stores. eSIMS are also not carrier locked, unlike traditional SIMS, so you don’t have to go through your carrier to unlock your phone if you have an eSIM.

 

1 hour ago, Crazycrab said:

 

THAT'S A TOTAL LIE!

 

The exact same pain in the ass process applies with eSIMS as they do with normal ones.  You need to unlock you phone if want to use an eSIM, or at least an eSIM from different carrier.

 

https://www.esim.net/helpdesk/knowledge-base/locked-phone/

 

@Crazycrab got in there first, but he is right, that is a lie. I even went through this on my own post that phones need to be unlocked before changing carriers and that an eSIM would only make doing so more difficult if anything. It being the same process is the best you could hope for with an eSIM. Both yourself and the article you links claim that eSIM's allow you to swich carriers more easily, but that just isn't true. If you bought a phone on it's on without a contract you obviously have the option to use whatever carrier you want, but that's true with any phone one buys outright without a contract, whether it takes a regular SIM or an eSIM. Oh wait, not that's not true eSIMs. Most countries by your own admission will only have one or two network providers available if you have an eSIM. In America your choice isn't really a choice either thanks the problems with lack of net neutrality that I brought up earlier, meaning you'll be shoehorned into signing up with whatever carrier that won't throttle your speeds.

 

The article you brought I can now say, having looked into it with more detail, is clearly very bias. Take a look at this section, for example:

 

 

The part in red is just a flat out lie, you can't just change what provider you use on a whim unless;

 

1. The phone is unlocked, and it wouldn't be if the phone was purchased through a contract.
2. The lines you're switching to and from are on pay-as-you-go tariffs without contracts.

 

There are problems with this on the iPhone 14 especially because of the massive install price of the phone. It's over £1000 here in the UK for example. The vast majority of customers will buy iPhones through a contract, so this claim you can "switch providers at the touch of a button" is exaggerated for people on pay-as-you-go (you still have to sign up to the carrier) and full on bullshit for everyone else. I suppose as a contract customer you could add a pay-as-you-go tariff to your eSIM, but there's no good reason to do that.

 

The green part speaks the same tone as you, claiming that switching would be easy so long as the service providers "pinky promise" to not lock you onto thier service. The problem with that is that they obviously will. They do that already and have been for years. I don't know planet you're from, but it's obviously not this one if you think for one second that they will allow users on contracts to just switch providers because they're using an eSIM instead of a regular one. That's complete nonsense.

 

The second paragraph may be my favourite part as the "only" and "minor" concern with this from a customers point of view would be not being able to transfer an eSIM into another device. I'll give the Apple shill who wrote this some credit, that is true and a legitimate problem with eSIMs, but as thread is bringing to light, it's hardly the biggest concern. It's the potential ill effect on customers freedom of choice and lack of justification for the removal of feature while price goes up that are the main concerns.

 

Also @Grungie, why do you keep bring phone reviewers? How this affects a portion of people that is almost nobody isn't that important.