Apple launches embedded SIM for iPad Pro

Is the the new e-Sim - a software-based SIM, or a regular SIM card soldered on to the circuit board, like many of the tracking companies do on their tracking devices? Some reports make it sound like Apple's doing something special, where in reality it seems they just went dual-SIM with one of the SIMs soldered on to the board.
 
seems good but that data pricing for RSA. EISH!

Time for RSA cellular provider to catch up.
 
This is typical of Apple trying to force unilateral products on the market... Like their 'brilliant' Nano SIM which just makes the SIM smaller... The space used on the iPhone 4 PCB is identical to the space used on the iPhone 5 with it's Nano SIM. Effectively just a marketing ploy and nothing else!

You can see it now... Sorry Mrs Jones, you entered your PUK code wrong ten times and now you must buy a new iPad.

I just hope the industry makes Apple's SIM the Betamax of the cellular world!
 
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GigSky’s rates in South Africa for Apple SIM do not compare favourably to the prepaid data bundles you can buy from local mobile network operators.
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Funny, this is the same argument forumites make when pro-Vodacom articles come out lauding their latest "cheap" roaming packages. Buying prepaid locally will always be cheaper.
 
JimM said:
This is typical of Apple trying to force unilateral products on the market... Like their 'brilliant' Nano SIM which just makes the SIM smaller... The space used on the iPhone 4 PCB is identical to the space used on the iPhone 5 with it's Nano SIM. Effectively just a marketing ploy and nothing else!

You can see it now... Sorry Mrs Jones, you entered your PUK code wrong ten times and now you must buy a new iPad.

I just hope the industry makes Apple's SIM the Betamax of the cellular world!
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lol. Be sure to wear your tin foil hat with pride.
 
JimM said:
This is typical of Apple trying to force unilateral products on the market...
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Just because it has one built in what forces you to use it? Use the sim slot.
 
bwana said:
Just because it has one built in what forces you to use it? Use the sim slot.
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It might have something to do with:
1. Activation woes (on Telkom network by example). Google working on the alternative cellular messaging system. Apple could use it for secure identification, tracking and/or activating.
2. The latest trend for online payments using airtime, so I think the are planning to implement it on App/Apple Store.

Not everything Apple is doing is stupid. It might turn out later what it is destignated for. Non-replacable SIM gives Apple the same power of identifying user as cellular companies already had from the beginning.
 
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whatwhat said:
lol. Be sure to wear your tin foil hat with pride.
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While we're talking tin foil hats, this isn't a good trend, to have a SIM soldered on to your circuit board totally under the manufacturer's control. If Apple lose the court case against the FBI, there's nothing anyone with an iPad Pro could do to stop the iPad being accessed through this backdoor.

And it's not up to Apple whether they open this backdoor or not, it's all down to the way the chips fall in the next few years as the lawyers battle it out. I don't care about it that much, the government would just be bored if they backdoored in to my computer, but imagine if all SIMs were soldered to circuit boards, what power that would give bad actors that had influence over manufacturers (eg. China, dictatorships, etc)
 
elvis_presley said:
While we're talking tin foil hats, this isn't a good trend, to have a SIM soldered on to your circuit board totally under the manufacturer's control. If Apple lose the court case against the FBI, there's nothing anyone with an iPad Pro could do to stop the iPad being accessed through this backdoor.

And it's not up to Apple whether they open this backdoor or not, it's all down to the way the chips fall in the next few years as the lawyers battle it out. I don't care about it that much, the government would just be bored if they backdoored in to my computer, but imagine if all SIMs were soldered to circuit boards, what power that would give bad actors that had influence over manufacturers (eg. China, dictatorships, etc)
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You already have WiFi in every iPad, where the cellular ones are less common. That already is a better backdoor than a sim card.
 
I hope it doesn't become the standard because every time you change your phone there's bound to be issues and hours on the phone with incompetent telephone agents employed by the networks etc . That's going to be a nightmare for people who always upgrade or change their phones.

Right now it's simple if your sim card doesn't work do a simple sim swop....if you change phones pop in sim into new phone and done,no mess no fuss.
 
falcon786 said:
I hope it doesn't become the standard because every time you change your phone there's bound to be issues and hours on the phone with incompetent telephone agents employed by the networks etc . That's going to be a nightmare for people who always upgrade or change their phones.

Right now it's simple if your sim card doesn't work do a simple sim swop....if you change phones pop in sim into new phone and done,no mess no fuss.
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Is it really that different from any other dual sim device? :confused:
 
whatwhat said:
You already have WiFi in every iPad, where the cellular ones are less common. That already is a better backdoor than a sim card.
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Actually you are wrong. With embedded SIM Apple has its own cellular network by [-]Skynet[/-] Gigsky and is hoping to earn money on it. On the other side US spy agencies don't need to go into separate agreements with every country to monitor calls (and possibly data traffic as well). I am sure they will not miss opportunity and now they only need one agreement with Gigsky, their skynet works in 90 countries, no matter which cellular provider is used by the user.

Extend of this story is difficult to predict. Now Apple can claim that their phones/tablets are unbreakable. US government will not push for disclosing user data anymore, as they can monitor it in real time. I expect that third-party business will start offering disabling internal SIM permamently.
 
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