The Apple SIM is a proprietary

subscriber identity module A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout)A SIM card or SIM (subscriber identity module) is an integrated circuit (IC) intended to securely store an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and its related key, which are u ...

(SIM) produced by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

It is included in GPS + Cellular versions of the

iPad Air 2 The iPad Air 2 is the second-generation iPad Air tablet computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on October 16, 2014, alongside the iPad Mini 3, both of which were released on October 22, 2014. The iPad Air 2 is thinner, ...

and later,

iPad mini 3 The iPad Mini 3 (stylized and marketed as iPad mini 3) is the third-generation iPad Mini tablet computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced alongside the iPad Air 2 on October 16, 2014 and released on October 22. It uses pri ...

and later, and

iPad Pro The iPad Pro is a series of tablet computers, positioned as the premium line of Apple Inc., Apple's iPad brand. It runs iPadOS, a tablet-optimized Fork (software development), fork of the iOS operating system. Early models were distinguished f ...

. The Apple SIM supports wireless services across multiple supported carriers, which can be selected from a user interface within

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and

iPadOS iPadOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPad line of tablet computers. It was given a name distinct from iOS, the operating system used by Apple's iPhones to reflect the diverging features of the two product lines, suc ...

, removing the need to install a SIM provided by the carrier itself. While Apple did not acknowledge the feature whilst presenting the iPad models that ship with Apple SIM, promotional materials on its website discuss the feature as being geared toward users of short-term

mobile Internet The mobile web comprises mobile browser-based World Wide Web services accessed from handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones or feature phones, through a mobile or other wireless network. History and development Traditionally, the World ...

contracts across multiple carriers. Carriers supported by Apple SIM include

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...

T-Mobile US T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Its majority shareholder and namesake is the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom. T-Mobile is the second largest wireless carrie ...

, EE, au, GigSky,

Truphone 1Global (previously Truphone) is a GSMA-accredited global mobile network that operates its service internationally. The company is headquartered in London and has offices in ten other countries, being spread across four continents. 1Global offe ...

Three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

, and AlwaysOnline Wireless. Altogether these carriers provide coverage in 100+ countries. However, activating mobile services on AT&T will permanently lock the Apple SIM to AT&T, requiring the purchase of a new Apple SIM in order to use a different carrier. The Apple SIM is known as a ''Removable SIM with Remote Provisioning'' – it is a special SIM card that may be configured with different operator profiles. This is in contrast to an embedded SIM, which is not removable and may also be remotely provisioned. It appears that Apple has begun to include both types of SIM in their newer devices. As of October 1, 2022, Apple SIM technology is no longer available for activating new cellular data plans on iPad.

Supported devices

Source:

Embedded Apple SIM

The following devices have embedded Apple SIM (except China). * iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 10.5-inch (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 9.7-inch (WiFi + Cellular)

Apple SIM support

The following devices support physical Apple SIM cards. * iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd-generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 10.5-inch (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Pro 9.7-inch (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad (9th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad (7th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad (7th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad (6th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad (5th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Air 13-inch (5th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Air 11-inch (5th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Air (5th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Air (4th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Air (3rd generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad Air 2 (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad mini (6th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad mini (5th generation) (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad mini 4 (WiFi + Cellular) * iPad mini 3 (WiFi + Cellular)

References

External links

Apple SIM
(Official website) {{Apple Apple Inc. hardware