The iPhone 15 you buy in the UK has a major difference to US handsets – and fans aren’t happy
APPLE fans are divided about a major difference between iPhones sold in the US and those you can get in the UK.
In a bid to do away with SIM cards, the tech giant has made it only possible to use eSIM in the US.
An eSIM allows you to load more than one mobile plan to your smartphone without having to physically change SIM cards each time.
So you can use two phone numbers at the same time.
It's meant to make life easier for people with a personal phone number and work phone number, or those who want to get hold of a data plan while they're in another country.
eSIM is also more secure.
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The move actually started with last year's iPhone 14, while the rest of the world continued getting devices with a SIM card tray and eSIM option.
Rumour had it Apple was planning to make it eSIM-only in the UK and other countries with the arrival of the iPhone 15.
But it never materialised at this week's big launch event.
So the US continues to be forced to adopt eSIM while buyers in the UK will have to stick to the old physical SIM card way.
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While it's meant to be convenient, not everyone in the US is happy to be blocked from using SIM cards.
Some argue it gives you fewer choice of temporary SIM options when you're abroad.
"Hey @Apple the idea of not including SIM card slot in new iPhones sucks," one user tweeted.
"I travel a lot and now I can’t buy the new iPhone every year anymore because it won’t work in many countries without eSim."
It's likely Apple will try to make things eSIM-only in future, if only to make production easier.
But for now we'll have to wait another year until the iPhone 16.
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