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You can already buy an unlocked GSM iPhone 6 or 6 Plus direct from Apple but it comes with a T-Mobile SIM in the U.S. Consumers will have the option to ditch that SIM card — much to T-Mobile’s chagrin, I’d guess — according to 9to5 Mac whose sources say the SIM-free iPhones go on sale Tuesday.
Pricing should remain the same as the currently available unlocked models, which start at $649. The only real difference here is that you’ll have to provide your own compatible GSM SIM card for your new phone since there won’t be one included. Update: This phone did launch on Tuesday and isn’t just an unlocked GSM model; it’s a “world phone” that supports CDMA, GSM, TD-LTE and many other networks.
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BTW,
I think this is the “iPhone that Rules them all”. Anyone who can afford the upfront cost will buy this unlocked super phone. Eventually will build ONLY this model.
Two SKUs:
iPhone n
iPhone n Plus
Whoa Kevin,
This isn’t the phone you think it is.
It is a World Phone – It includes and works on all bands used in the 2 other models – Sprint, ATT, Verizon, TMobile, China Telecom, China Mobile.
You name it – this phone has them all.
The link: http://store.apple.com/us/buy-iphone/iphone6/4.7-inch-display-16gb-silver-unlocked Check the specs out near the bottom.
(Now, I think you need to rewrite this column, don’t you?)
Appreciate the info and I’ll clarify in the post with an update; the specs weren’t made available until the day after I wrote this. Thanks!
how do you pick which phone it is? meaning verizon, att, mobile, or sprint?
It uses GSM, not CDMA so you can’t use this model on Verizon or Sprint. However, when you put in a SIM card from a GSM carrier, the phone will be activated on that network.
I’m still unclear about the difference between this SIM-free phone & the existing T-Mobile variant. All one needs to do with the current T-Mobile phone is to take out the pre inserted T-Mobile SIM & use any other GSM SIM.
Will this new SIM-Free variant support both GSM & CDMA ? Will it support both FD & TD LTE bands so that it’s true “world phone” ?
Sathish, see the astute comment above from pkdecville: Turns out this actually is a world phone that supports GSM, CDMA, TD-LTE, etc….
>Consumers will have the option to ditch that SIM card
As opposed to now, where they have the option to literally ditch the card, probably in the trash ;)