Apple's New Cellular iPad Air and iPad Pro Models Are eSIM Only
Apple's "It's Glowtime" iPhone 16 Event: Follow along
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Apple at its "Let Loose" event today announced new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, and there are smaller changes compared to the previous generation devices that did not get mentioned during the event but are worth knowing about.
One of the differences worth noting is the lack of a physical SIM card slot. On the previous generation models, the cellular versions of both the iPad Air and the iPad Pro included a physical SIM card slot. In the new devices, that's no longer the case. All cellular models now support eSIM only.
It's a small but crucial detail for anyone looking to upgrade their iPad while sticking with their current cellular plan. Apple has not divulged the reason why it chose to remove the physical SIM slot, but it could have been a design decision related to making the devices slimmer, or a necessity to keep them slim, given all of the devices' hardware upgrades.
Either way, the change brings parity to Apple's latest iPad models and its iPhone, which dropped the physical SIM slot in 2022 with the launch of the iPhone 14.
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