Every new iPhone brings over various features that were never available on previous models, and the same is expected for next year’s models. We could tell you that much even if there were no early rumors to dissect. But one of the iPhone X’s successors will finally do something no other iPhone has been capable of, even though competing devices had the beloved and incredibly useful feature for years. That’s right, dual-SIM support is supposedly coming to a future iPhone.
A report on Friday from well-known Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that next year’s iPhones will have pre-5G speeds, and that Apple will utilize both Intel and Qualcomm models to achieve faster data speeds. Buried in that same report, however, was a second huge revelation. At least one of Apple’s 2018 iPhones will come with built-in dual-SIM support, which would represent a first for Apple handsets.
Just as with wireless charging, which you could add to pre-iPhone 8 devices with the help of specialized hardware, you can add dual-SIM support to any existing iPhone. It’s usually a less than elegant solution, and many iPhone fans would probably appreciate an out-of-the-box solution that just works.
Kuo expects that at least one of next year’s iPhones will support two SIM cards, with both of slots ready to deliver 4G LTE speeds. “2H18 iPhone models won’t only offer faster LTE transmission speed: We predict that at least one of the 2H18 new iPhone models will support dual-SIM dual standby (DSDS),” Kuo predicts, per MacRumors. “Unlike existing DSDS phones, which commonly support LTE+3G connections, we believe next-generation iPhone models will support LTE+LTE connections, in a bid to enhance the user experience.”
While that may sound exciting, it’ll be interesting to see how Apple plans to accommodate a second SIM card inside the iPhone. Kuo didn’t explain that. Maybe next year’s iPhones will come out with built-in support for eSIM cards, which would certainly qualify as skating towards where the puck is going.