Looks like apples next batch of iPhones could be un-unlockable

Hogzy

Moving from regular SIMs to micro SIMs for the iPad and iPhone 4 was a fairly user-hostile move on Apple's part, seeing how it made moving between an iPhone and virtually any other GSM device quite a bit more difficult; the official explanation (for the iPhone 4, anyway) was that there simply wasn't room for a regular SIM, but that seems unlikely considering that you're only saving 10mm of length, 3mm of width, and 0mm of thickness. A more plausible scenario is that Apple viewed micro SIMs as a way to get ahead of the industry curve a bit and make it unpleasant for users to try to share an iPhone line with other devices, a concept that gets at the core of Apple's mantra of owning the entire ecosystem from end to end.

But could they be trying to take that concept another step further? GigaOM is reporting a rumor today that Apple is working tightly with security firm Gemalto -- you know, the SIM guys -- to integrate software-reconfigurable SIMs right into European iPhones that would be activated on the carrier of your choice using an App Store download. Why European models? Multiple carriers offer the iPhone in a number of European countries, so distribution is a bit more complicated there than it is in the US, though it's a reasonable leap to suggest that the same integrated SIMs would be use on new North American iPhones as well. From Apple's perspective, it's a win-win: trying to use your iPhone line with another device would be akin to pulling teeth, and more importantly, Apple wouldn't need to worry about bundling carrier-specific SIMs with devices. In fact, the move would make Apple's (and the consumer's) interactions with the carrier entirely virtual, all the way from manufacture to activation. Seems like the plan would require an extraordinary amount of buy-in from carriers who've become increasingly suspicious of Apple's goals lately -- but then again, they managed to get carriers to suddenly and rapidly deploy micro SIMs en masse, and if anyone could pull this off, it'd be Steve's boys and girls.

Source: Engadget

Balls!!!

Owen

Can't see the EU allowing that one.

seamus

that seems unlikely considering that you're only saving 10mm of length, 3mm of width, and 0mm of thickness.

I completely and utterly disagree, I'm surprised that engadget are so bull-headed about that. Think about the volume of hardware crammed into an iPhone, particularly the iP4. Space savings are crucial wherever they can be found, so I'm sure someone in Apple saw the MicroSIM format, realised that it wouldn't require any fundamental change in software (it works just the same as a regular SIM), but would save a good chunk of space in the device, so said "let's go for that".

to integrate software-reconfigurable SIMs right into European iPhones that would be activated on the carrier of your choice using an App Store download.

So why are MicroSIMs even remotely related to this if they're going to put a non-removable SIM into the device? That is, why bother making the move to MicroSIM if their next step was to have a reprogrammable integrated SIM anyway? There's no logical leap there. Surely it would have been easier to not switch to MicroSIMs if this was Apple's grand plan?

Why European models? Multiple carriers offer the iPhone in a number of European countries, so distribution is a bit more complicated there than it is in the US, though it's a reasonable leap to suggest that the same integrated SIMs would be use on new North American iPhones as well. From Apple's perspective, it's a win-win: trying to use your iPhone line with another device would be akin to pulling teeth, and more importantly, Apple wouldn't need to worry about bundling carrier-specific SIMs with devices.

I suspect that whoever wrote this article doesn't understand Apple's European Distribution model. They're looking at the US model and then shoehorning the multi-carrier model on top of that.
Apple don't distribute carrier phones to end-consumers in Europe. They provide the phones (albeit carrier locked) to the carrier, who then bundle their own SIM with the device. Apple also provide their own phones simfree in Europe, which this writer also seems to have missed.

The only benefit I can consider in this move is to be able to cram more technology into the device and have less slots which can be opened. If the SIM can be software-based on an existing piece of flash, then you save the space required for a SIM. It makes sense.

However, it doesn't make sense to use this for carrier locking. We've seen from the implementation in the US that exclusivity is great for introducing a device to the marketplace, but in the medium to long term it actually hinders the uptake of the mature device because at that stage, comparable devices exist in the market who aren't crippled by an exclusivity deal and are available on all carriers.

If anything, Apple may leverage a software-based SIM to allow *more* mobility between operators. So I buy an iP6 from Three through the App Store. The details of my contract and the rest are all provided through a link between Apple and Three. I plug my phone into iTunes, phone gets reprogrammed and away I go. 18 or 24 months later, I plug it into iTunes again and I'm allowed to choose to switch to any other provider, on the spot, SIM reprogrammed in a matter of minutes.

I don't see carriers leaping at this though just because Apple said so. A standard framework would need to be in place so that any manufacturer can incorporate the same technology into their phones.