Apple's iPhone 14 might be the first to ship without a physical SIM card slot

[Shawn Knight]

In a nutshell: The first iPhone without a physical SIM card slot was originally expected to be the iPhone 15 Pro model forecasted to launch in late 2023 but the latest from the rumor mill suggests the change could happen a year sooner. Potential benefits include a more seamless design and improved water resistance, among others.

An anonymous tipster recently divulged to MacRumors that Apple has told major wireless providers in the US to prepare for eSIM-only iPhones by September 2022. The source provided the publication with a “seemingly legitimate” document that laid out the timeline for the initiative, although notably, said document didn’t mention Apple or the iPhone by name.

Per the transition, some US carriers will reportedly start selling select iPhone 13 models without a nano-SIM card in the box in the second quarter of 2022. iPhone 13 models sold on Apple’s website and at its retail stores already don’t include a nano-SIM, but support digital SIM cards called eSIMs that let uses activate service without a physical card.

Considering the alleged September 2022 date, it’s plausible that Apple could start phasing out physical SIM card slots as early as the iPhone 14 family.

An eSIM-only design could bring Apple’s iconic handset one step closer to former design officer Jony Ive’s vision of an iPhone that looks like a single slab of glass. It would also likely make manufacturing a bit easier and further enhance water resistance.

Apple's next iPhone - or at least, the Pro models - are also rumored to feature a 48MP camera with a periscope-style lens design said to be in the works for the following year.

Image credit iFixit

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https://www.techspot.com/news/92759-apple-iphone-14-might-first-ship-without-physical.html

 

[Burty117]

Thanks Apple, any chance of TouchID again? Or at the very minimum, USB-C? Still don't get the USB'C refusal, almost everything else in their line up has gone USB-C, iPad's, Mac's, My misses got a new Apple Watch for Christmas and even that comes with a USB-C charge cable.

 

[Sausagemeat]

It’s actually ridiculous that we need a small piece of plastic to connect to a phone network. But I travel a lot and have concerns, do these eSIMs work in any country? Can the network provider lock it down?

 

[Uncle Al]

All just another reason not to throw down that much money for such a device ....

 

[antiproduct]

Really hoping that they add touch ID as well, considering that mask wearing doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. But ya know, Apple would rather put time and money into removing stuff than actually adding functionality.

 

[Kosmoz]

This is the next step into the direction of that chip implant "they" will make us want and accept soon™.

1st, no more removable batteries on phones = already achieved.
2nd, no more physical SIM = in progress.
3rd, no more phone at all, just have everything on/inside you = the ultimate level of tracking, controlling and slavery achieved. And the irony is that billions will accept it and want it by their own accord. Like sheeple to the slaughter.

it's not a matter of if, just a matter of when.

 

[emmzo]

Here`s some more future ideas, I`m sure I won`t be credited by Apple, but they`ll think about them: no jacks, ports of any kind, only wireless charging (glass frame bought separately), only Bluetooth audio, no side buttons, what do you need these for?

 

[Theinsanegamer]

It’s actually ridiculous that we need a small piece of plastic to connect to a phone network. But I travel a lot and have concerns, do these eSIMs work in any country? Can the network provider lock it down?

That "ridiculous" plastic slab allows you to access mobile networks in any country with a simple part swap. Without it, a phone could easily be locked out of a network since you cant simply swap the encryption chip anymore.

Not so "ridiculous" now, eh?

 

[Hexic]

*laughs in Pixel*

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

Is a camera of that MP really needed? Talk about forcing people to buy more storage. That's nuts. I did great with my 5mp DSLR back in the day and fit a lot of images on a 1.44 floppy disk.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I honestly think that Apple is just testing how much of a cult following that they have at this point. I mean, they're already a horrible value compared to the Android makers and people still keep buying their stuff.

Since Android is available on pretty much every phone EXCEPT the iPhone, this has turned into a situation that's very similar to PC vs Mac. Android is like Windows now and iOS is like MacOS. You can get a computer running Windows from a huge assortment of brands while a computer running MacOS is always a Mac (or a Hackintosh if you could be bothered to make one).

Apple hasn't done so well in the computer market because they have no competition on their side. The only reason why they're doing well in the phone market is that even on the Android side, there is still a remarkable lack of standardisation (unlike with PCs).

If someone owns a Mac and an iPhone or a PC and an Android, then they've got their priorities aligned because the reasons for buying their phones and computers align. On the other hand, if someone has a PC and an iPhone or a Mac and an Android, it's kinda odd to me. This is because the reasons for buying a iPhone or Mac are the polar opposite of the reasons for buying a PC or Android.

Values Projected by PC/Android:
1. Utility (What it can do is most important)
2. Rationality (Paying more than necessary makes me feel inferior)
Values Projected by Mac/iPhone:
1. Aesthetics (How it looks is most important)
2. Elitism (Paying more than necessary makes me feel superior)

I find that owning a PC or Android is like owning a Toyota, Hyundai or Honda while owning a Mac or iPhone is like owning a Volkswagen, Mercedes or BMW. One is made to be long-lived, sturdy and easy-to-own while the other is made to be trendy, short-lived and difficult-to-own.

I own a PC, an Android and a Veloster. I know which camp I'm in.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Thanks Apple, any chance of TouchID again? Or at the very minimum, USB-C? Still don't get the USB'C refusal, almost everything else in their line up has gone USB-C, iPad's, Mac's, My misses got a new Apple Watch for Christmas and even that comes with a USB-C charge cable.

When a decision makes absolutely zero sense like that but forces you to use a proprietary design, it's a blatant cash-grab (from YOU). Apple does it because they know that it doesn't stop most people from buying their stuff so why not? That Apple Watch is a perfect case-in-point.

All just another reason not to throw down that much money for such a device ....

Yep, I still can't understand how someone can pay more for a phone than a computer. I would feel so stupid doing something like that.

Really hoping that they add touch ID as well, considering that mask wearing doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. But ya know, Apple would rather put time and money into removing stuff than actually adding functionality.

They don't have touch-ID? Hell, my Motorola Moto-G Power has touch-ID and it cost under $300CAD!

This is the next step into the direction of that chip implant "they" will make us want and accept soon™.

1st, no more removable batteries on phones = already achieved.
2nd, no more physical SIM = in progress.
3rd, no more phone at all, just have everything on/inside you = the ultimate level of tracking, controlling and slavery achieved. And the irony is that billions will accept it and want it by their own accord. Like sheeple to the slaughter.

it's not a matter of if, just a matter of when.

I would agree that this is true about Apple cultists but not all of us are willing to down like that.

You're just one of those billions sheeple. Just remember you were told.

Alas, I could not give a flying F about you and those like you, this world deserves what's coming to it.

It's true, the sheeple are doing horrible things to themselves because they can't see past their own noses. Like, I don't know what has to possess someone to suddenly think that vaccines are bad. That's the problem with the bell curve. If you figure out how to fool people that are a bit behind the curve, there's still enough of them to make a seriously negative difference. Those "behind-the-curve" people also tend to be more reactionary which causes them to broadcast hyperbolic statements that make no sense. They also tend to be more irrational and so are impossible to reason with. Those are the devotees that power-seekers adore.

 

[Gameredic]

Thanks Apple, any chance of TouchID again? Or at the very minimum, USB-C? Still don't get the USB'C refusal, almost everything else in their line up has gone USB-C, iPad's, Mac's, My misses got a new Apple Watch for Christmas and even that comes with a USB-C charge cable.

licensing lightning cables and other Made for Apple products makes apple tens of billions of dollars so most likely not.

 

[Kosmoz]

I would agree that this is true about Apple cultists but not all of us are willing to down like that.

It's true, the sheeple are doing horrible things to themselves because they can't see past their own noses. Like, I don't know what has to possess someone to suddenly think that vaccines are bad. That's the problem with the bell curve. If you figure out how to fool people that are a bit behind the curve, there's still enough of them to make a seriously negative difference. Those "behind-the-curve" people also tend to be more reactionary which causes them to broadcast hyperbolic statements that make no sense. They also tend to be more irrational and so are impossible to reason with. Those are the devotees that power-seekers adore.

I know something from experience:

1. You (as in anyone) don't know everything that is going on in the world. But let's forget about everything and focus on just the most important things (that influence your life and your future) that are going on in the world, well you don't know even half of those things either...
2. Does anyone think that there are no people who know more than them? Who know what's behind the curtain and what's to come? There are.
And I'm not talking like knowing all the details, but knowing enough to matter and to know how to act accordingly for their own benefit, against the narrative that the majority will follow in the wrong direction.
3. The wake up call happens at different stage of ones life for different people... and for some, I would say the majority it never happens or it comes too late to matter, to late to change the outcome.

When I said I know from experience It's because I was just another sheeple too, granted that was more than 10 years ago, but I used to say "that guy needs to take his meds too", but then some things started to happen and at some point you can't just say it's coincidence after coincidence... and since then I did my own research and now I even have my own sources.

It does not matter to me who doesn't believe me, there is a reason I said billions, because the majority will not believe actually, until it's too late.

I rather be prepared and wrong (but I won't be wrong because I'm 100% sure on this, because it's a matte of WHEN not IF, like I said), then be one of the billions of fools that will get to that point of no return and regret it forever.

The majority of people actually have no idea on what world they live in and the reality of that world... it's so incredibly different in some aspects that their cognitive dissolution triggers and they can't comprehend such a paradigm shift that is presented in front of them.

Here's a small tip, this article on this same site shows that this is the direction we are headed (posted 2 days ago), link > ALS patient becomes first person to tweet with just his brain.

As always with all the new tech it will 1st be promoted that will only do good things, but we all know where that leads to.

We all know about transhumanism and their intent on merging man and machine and all the reasons for it... that's how it's done, with chips. And if anyone think those chips will not have major negative features in them (negative to the carrier), besides the positives advertised to promote them, then they are sheeple indeed.

Like I said, this world deserves what's coming... it has gotten that bad and it will get worse.

 

[Burty117]

licensing lightning cables and other Made for Apple products makes apple tens of billions of dollars so most likely not.

Then why switch Mac's, iPad's and even the silly little charger that comes with the Apple Watch? If it was purely about money, why bother changing any of those to USB-C?

Remember, Apple helped create USB-C, the only reason Lightning even came about was due to Apple getting annoyed with how long it was taking to get USB-C ratified and agreed on.

 

[Gameredic]

Then why switch Mac's, iPad's and even the silly little charger that comes with the Apple Watch? If it was purely about money, why bother changing any of those to USB-C?

Remember, Apple helped create USB-C, the only reason Lightning even came about was due to Apple getting annoyed with how long it was taking to get USB-C ratified and agreed on.

That's a really good question. Sometimes, people do things that don''t make sense or are just plain stupid. Perhaps that is why Apple still has not changed the iPhone port from Lightning to USB-C.

But Apple sure does sell many more iPhones than Macs or iPads or Apple Watches.

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

If you don't like Apple, don't buy Apple. I really like their products. Just don't like the move away from touch ID. I've never really had an Apple product just fail. Secure and well built. You see the difference here. I'm not bashing other ecosystems. Oh yeah, this has turned into a "hate the rich" website, or hate anything that is out of reach for some people. Sad.

 

[kenny loris]

The world dint get enough if iPhone 13 and here we are getting rumors about how iPhone 14 is going to be...

 

[VegasDon1]

Apple iPhone is straight redundant garbage. Fortunately, I left the Apple cult eight years ago and basking in the freedom with my open source Android smartphone.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I know something from experience:

1. You (as in anyone) don't know everything that is going on in the world. But let's forget about everything and focus on just the most important things (that influence your life and your future) that are going on in the world, well you don't know even half of those things either...
2. Does anyone think that there are no people who know more than them? Who know what's behind the curtain and what's to come? There are.
And I'm not talking like knowing all the details, but knowing enough to matter and to know how to act accordingly for their own benefit, against the narrative that the majority will follow in the wrong direction.

I don't assume to know everything and never have. This is why I always defer to those who know more than I do in their field. I do know a lot of things but there's the old addage "The more you really do know, the more you realise that you really don't know." and it's 100% true. That's why I couldn't imagine arguing against vaccines or climate change. The people who say that vaccines are good and that climate change is real are the people who are in the field and are involved with it every single day. People who know an order of magnitude more than I do are not people who I would even consider arguing against.

3. The wake up call happens at different stage of ones life for different people... and for some, I would say the majority it never happens or it comes too late to matter, to late to change the outcome.

When I said I know from experience It's because I was just another sheeple too, granted that was more than 10 years ago, but I used to say "that guy needs to take his meds too", but then some things started to happen and at some point you can't just say it's coincidence after coincidence... and since then I did my own research and now I even have my own sources.

Yep, I'm exactly the same way in that regard. If I have to make a decision for myself that I know is important, I can become an absolute information vacuum cleaner because if I get something important wrong, the consequences can be dire. I remember a night when I didn't sleep because I was researching the hell out of a video card that seemed to good to be true at the time. Being always ready to sacrifice the short-term in favour of the long-term is definitely the way to go because the long-term always ends up being "today" at some point.

It does not matter to me who doesn't believe me, there is a reason I said billions, because the majority will not believe actually, until it's too late.

I rather be prepared and wrong (but I won't be wrong because I'm 100% sure on this, because it's a matte of WHEN not IF, like I said), then be one of the billions of fools that will get to that point of no return and regret it forever.

The majority of people actually have no idea on what world they live in and the reality of that world... it's so incredibly different in some aspects that their cognitive dissolution triggers and they can't comprehend such a paradigm shift that is presented in front of them.

Here's a small tip, this article on this same site shows that this is the direction we are headed (posted 2 days ago), link > ALS patient becomes first person to tweet with just his brain.

As always with all the new tech it will 1st be promoted that will only do good things, but we all know where that leads to.

Yeah, just like "atomic energy". Everything can be weaponised.

We all know about transhumanism and their intent on merging man and machine and all the reasons for it... that's how it's done, with chips. And if anyone think those chips will not have major negative features in them (negative to the carrier), besides the positives advertised to promote them, then they are sheeple indeed.

Like I said, this world deserves what's coming... it has gotten that bad and it will get worse.

Well, I'd say that MOST of the world deserves what's coming. The hardest thing is seeing the direction in which we're headed and being powerless to even slow it down. It doesn't appear that humanity will pass the next civilization filter because we haven't outgrown the innate greed that helped us to survive to this point.

I suppose that could be referred to as the irony of the living universe, eh?