Cellular iPad Air 2 will come with Apple sim which supports multiple carriers

[snowmobiler487]

It would be nice if something similar to this would be an option for phone service for everyone that uses multiple providers.

 

http://www.apple.com/ipad-air-2/wireless/ See the "One sim. Many options." section.

[Yuhfhrh]

Cool! I wonder how it works.

[snowmobiler487]

I'm also curious if the new iPad supports all of the correct bands for each carrier. If so, why can't they do the same in an iPhone and sell one model across all carriers?

[Cubbiefan82]

I am shocked to not see verizon be apart of the apple sim too

[WiWavelength]

I am shocked to not see verizon be apart of the apple sim too

 

Ah, but VZW is "apart" from the Apple SIM.

 

 

AJ

[Cubbiefan82]

Ah, but VZW is "apart" from the Apple SIM.

 

 

AJ

I am glad you picked up on that

[Destroyallcubes]

Now if only the Nexus series could support this. This will be huge.

[Tajustin95]

Hey I was wondering if you guys heard about the new Apple Sim, and wondering if you guys think it will come out for cell phones since basically most phones now have bands for all carriers almost? Also, the fact that unlock rules has changed by the FCC.

 

Article: http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/att-sprint-and-t-mobile-support-new-apple-sim-card-lets-customers-choose-ca/2014-10-16

[Paynefanbro]

An article by FierceWireless has been released to day saying that Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile are supporting Apple's new SIM card for the new iPad's that will allow you to choose your carrier. The only carrier that seems to be missing is Verizon Wireless which I'm sure we all don't find very surprising.

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/att-sprint-and-t-mobile-support-new-apple-sim-card-lets-customers-choose-ca/2014-10-16

[jamisonshaw125]

An article by FierceWireless has been released to day saying that Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile are supporting Apple's new SIM card for the new iPad's that will allow you to choose your carrier. The only carrier that seems to be missing is Verizon Wireless which I'm sure we all don't find very surprising.

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/att-sprint-and-t-mobile-support-new-apple-sim-card-lets-customers-choose-ca/2014-10-16

We already have this going over in the official iPad thread...I think. Verizon isn't there because its evil verizon.

[Paynefanbro]

We already have this going over in the official iPad thread...I think. Verizon isn't there because its evil verizon.

 

I knew it'd be talked about somewhere, I just didn't know where. It'd be cool for a general discussion though.

 

Do you think that it'll eventually be brought to phones once carriers get people off of 2 year contracts (if that ever happens)?

[miguell2]

I knew it'd be talked about somewhere, I just didn't know where. It'd be cool for a general discussion though.

 

Do you think that it'll eventually be brought to phones once carriers get people off of 2 year contracts (if that ever happens)?

 

Apple said no in the fierce wireless article. They have to be bought unlocked full price from Apple.

[Paynefanbro]

Apple said no in the fierce wireless article. They have to be bought unlocked full price from Apple.

 

Not particularly pertaining to Apple though. If a solution such as this is developed for general use, do you guys think that carriers would be willing to use something like this so people could easily switch carriers.

[snowmobiler487]

Not particularly pertaining to Apple though. If a solution such as this is developed for general use, do you guys think that carriers would be willing to use something like this so people could easily switch carriers.

Something along those lines was my first thought when I started this thread.  It would be nice to have an unsubsidized device that could jump from carrier to carrier without switching sim cards.

[burnout8488]

Looks like the cellular models will start getting into user's hands today or tomorrow. Really curious what the data plans are going to be for this device.

 

I'd preorder one, but I might be going to Delaware soon and the whole no-tax thing is somewhat appealing. :-)

[burnout8488]

Held an Air 2 last night at Best Buy. They weren't on display yet, but the super-knowledgeable tech lead (seriously) got one out for me and let me play around with it. Wish I could have bought one from him but they haven't received any information on when they're getting the LTE models in yet. Hopefully a few days, or at least while their iPad 2 $200 trade-in program is going on.

 

This thing finally feels like a solid "slate," unlike the Air 1 which had the annoying air gap between the screen and LCD. Very very nice to hold.

[GoWireless]

Held an Air 2 last night at Best Buy. They weren't on display yet, but the super-knowledgeable tech lead (seriously) got one out for me and let me play around with it. Wish I could have bought one from him but they haven't received any information on when they're getting the LTE models in yet. Hopefully a few days, or at least while their iPad 2 $200 trade-in program is going on.

 

This thing finally feels like a solid "slate," unlike the Air 1 which had the annoying air gap between the screen and LCD. Very very nice to hold.

I bought my Sprint Air last year on launch day at the Apple Store. That's the only place that carried them at the time. It took the local Sprint stores a couple weeks before they had them in stock.

 

The thinness of the Air 2 is magical - very nice to hold indeed.

 

The other improvement above the original cellular Air is band 41 support. The lack of band 12 support though is a bit disappointing.

 

Looks like the cellular models will start getting into user's hands today or tomorrow. Really curious what the data plans are going to be for this device.

 

I'd preorder one, but I might be going to Delaware soon and the whole no-tax thing is somewhat appealing. :-)

The cost of tablet plans are usually the same regardless of the tablet. Sometimes Sprint will run a "special" for all tablets. Last year around this time they had a very good deal going: 2GB for $15/month+tax. If you got in on it when it was running you were in luck. I think for that amount of data it's the cheapest price point I've seen for standalone no-contract tablet plans before or since.

Edited October 25, 2014 by GoWireless

[burnout8488]

The cost of tablet plans are usually the same regardless of the tablet. Sometimes Sprint will run a "special" for all tablets. Last year around this time they had a very good deal going: 2GB for $15/month+tax. If you got in on it when it was running you were in luck. I think for that amount of data it's the cheapest price point I've seen for standalone no-contract tablet plans before or since.

Gotcha - I thought I heard about some new daily or weekly rate plans from Sprint that would become available with this tablet as well. Is this true? 

[GoWireless]

Gotcha - I thought I heard about some new daily or weekly rate plans from Sprint that would become available with this tablet as well. Is this true?

 

I haven't heard of that personally. Here's a suggestion though... If you want an inexpensive and flexible tablet plan you might want to take a look at Red Pocket. They sell a 30 day/1Gig of LTE data for $10 on T-Mobile (up until recently their data plans with T-Mobile were HSPA+ only but now it looks like they've added access to the LTE network as well). They also allow tethering with their plans. All ipad Airs and mini 2+3 originally sold in the US regardless of carrier are compatible (since all carriers in the US use the same iPad variant beginning with the Air and mini 2).

[oldblue910]

The thing that sucks about the Apple SIM as it pertains to Sprint is that carrier freedom is a one-way street. You can take a Sprint-purchased iPad Air 2 to another carrier (T-Mobile for instance). You will not, however, be able to take your T-Mobile-purchased iPad Air 2 with an Apple SIM and bring it to Sprint. The reason? Sprint whitelists IMEI numbers in the activation system that is used by stores and customer service. Historically, Sprint and other CDMA2000 carriers will only whitelist IMEI numbers for the devices that they sell, and occasionally devices sold through third parties like Google Play.

 

A perfect example of this is the Nexus 5. If you bought it from Google Play or Sprint, you could activate on Sprint with no problem. If you bought one from T-Mobile, a Sprint store would send you packing because the activation system doesn't have the IMEI for that phone due to where it was purchased. The fact that the Nexus 5s sold at T-Mobile are exactly the same as the ones sold at Play or Sprint is immaterial.

 

The same goes for the 2013 Nexus 7. Verizon would only be able to activate a new SIM for it if you bought it from Google Play or from Verizon. If you bought it from T-Mobile, you were out of luck unless you had a Verizon SIM that was already activated on another device. Verizon didn't whitelist IMEI numbers from T-Mobile's device stock.

 

There is every reason to believe that this will continue to be a problem on both the iPad Air 2 and the forthcoming Nexus 6 when attempting to activate them on CDMA carriers.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

[burnout8488]

The thing that sucks about the Apple SIM as it pertains to Sprint is that carrier freedom is a one-way street. You can take a Sprint-purchased iPad Air 2 to another carrier (T-Mobile for instance). You will not, however, be able to take your T-Mobile-purchased iPad Air 2 with an Apple SIM and bring it to Sprint. The reason? Sprint whitelists IMEI numbers in the activation system that is used by stores and customer service. Historically, Sprint and other CDMA2000 carriers will only whitelist IMEI numbers for the devices that they sell, and occasionally devices sold through third parties like Google Play.

 

Is this just speculation or do you have proof this is how the carrier-purchased Air 2s function? The Apple SIM in a T-Mobile iPad Air 2 shouldn't function any differently. I do not think your scenario applies anymore, since the Apple SIM's usefulness would be completely negated if it didn't function in T-Mobile purchased iPads.

[oldblue910]

Is this just speculation or do you have proof this is how the carrier-purchased Air 2s function? The Apple SIM in a T-Mobile iPad Air 2 shouldn't function any differently.

I admit it's speculation based on past history. I guess we'll find out.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

[burnout8488]

I admit it's speculation based on past history. I guess we'll find out.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus using Tapatalk

I hope it's as "free" as we want it to be now, but I definitely understand where you're coming from with the whole T-Mobile/Sprint Nexus 5 issue of yore. 

[nobius]

I didn't get a carrier iPad Air 2 (iPA2), but I did get a cellular version. Since AT&T will sim-lock the Apple SIM if you connect it to their network, I had Apple give me an AT&T sim card as well when I picked up my iPA2 so I can switch among the three carriers when needed.