For several years we have been hearing noise around an iPhone model with dual SIM, that is, an Apple terminal capable of having two separate data and voice lines but on the same device. With the recent discovery of mentions of this technology in the iOS 12 beta, it is worth asking what the Cupertino plans may be. One word seems fixed in phone conversations with dual SIM and that is China.
The fourth iPhone of 2018 with Dual SIM
At the end of 2016, we saw how Apple presented some patents on its research around dual SIM technology. Which denotes, at least, interest on the part of the company although later it does not use that technology.
In April of this year, the well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple was preparing to launch three new iPhone models this year. All of them with the style of the iPhone X:
- A 6.1-inch mid-range iPhone with the LCD screen.
- A high-end and 5.8-inch iPhone with OLED screen, the direct successor of the iPhone X.
- An iPhone of superior range and 6.5 inches with OLED screen, a kind of iPhone X Plus.
This is something that has been known for a long time and that we could give as valid, in the absence of confirmation by Apple in September. What the analyst added then was a fourth terminal, derived from the 6.1-inch iPhone and that would have the option of a dual SIM inside.
Although Kuo does not usually guess when talking about prices since they decide in Cupertino, not in Asia where their sources are, their statement about this model is interesting. It will obviously be a more expensive version than the one with a single SIM.
An iPhone with dual SIM for China and the corporate market
Knowing the version of Apple to place buttons and slots to their devices and their love to make them disappear, many have wondered if this iPhone with dual SIM would have a double slot or a single that fits both SIM cards.
One of the options that are shuffled is the integration of an Apple SIM or eSIM along with the traditional SIM slot. This was already shuffled a month ago, where again Kuo claimed that some iPhone models of 2018 would have an eSIM.
In Asian countries such as China, it is very common for users to contract two voice and data rates from different companies. This allows them to take advantage of the coverage, rates and data of the operators, at the same time as they can use one for work and other for personal life. Outside of this country, an iPhone with dual SIM can be interesting for large companies. In this way, they can give their employees a single terminal with which to support the professional and personal line.
An iPhone with dual SIM would allow Apple to address the demand for this type of terminal in Asia, where Android is the only platform that offers it.
Returning to China, curiously this is one of the few countries that do not support the Apple SIM. Therefore, if the rumours become reality and this model of the iPhone is sold in the country, it will mean that Apple has been able to solve this problem.
In the presentation of Apple's results yesterday, China grew 19.3% year-on-year. With this quarter, Apple chains a whole year of growth in the region after a year and a half in red. An iPhone especially aimed at the demands of some Asian users could push this growth even further.
No comments