The ability to have two phone numbers associated with one phone is hugely popular in places like India and China. With dual-SIM cards, users can switch between a phone number for work and another for personal calls. Apple doesn't offer this capability, and that may be limiting its ability to grow in some countries.
But it looks like Apple may be considering making a special version of the upcoming iPhone with a dual SIM card option, according to recent patents filed in different countries.
Documents filed with China’s State Intellectual Property Office (screenshot in Chinese below) describe a dual-SIM card feature that would allow the iPhone to store two phone numbers. The application was submitted in March 2016 and published in September 2016, according to the filing. The inventor listed on the filing is Li Su, whose LinkedIn profile shows she is a principal architect for cellular software at Apple.
Additionally, Apple was awarded a patent for dual SIM card technology in the United States earlier this week. Li Su is listed on the patent along with two other Apple wireless cellular engineers, Ming Hu and Guojie Dong.
"Some mobile devices have the capability of using multiple SIMs," reads the US patent, "allowing users to maintain different wireless services, such as for business and personal use."
A dual SIM card option would add some bulk to the hardware, but there has been growing interest lately around the technology for embedded SIM (or eSIM), which can be reprogrammed through software. Instead of a carrier providing the physical SIM card to get on their networks, the card can simply be reprogrammed to get on different networks through a software update. Apple began shipping an eSIM in its 9.7-inch iPad Pro this year.
But outside of China or India having a dual SIM option might not make a lot of sense. In the US, Western Europe, Japan, South Korea and Australia, Apple ties up closely with carriers to sell phones, said Canalys analyst Jessie Ding. "Dual-SIM card will jeopardize the mechanism that operators sell the locked iPhone with contract," said Ding.
Apple of course files technology patents all the time, and many never turn into technology that shows up in its products. This also isn’t the first time rumors of a dual-SIM card option in the iPhone have surfaced. Before the iPhone 7 launched, leaked pictures said to be of the upcoming phone showed support for two SIM cards, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. The actual iPhone 7 had neither.
But there is a growing need for Apple to address the large swath of consumers who are used to a dual-SIM card option. "If you look at the Indian or other markets, dual SIM is a huge thing," said tech analyst Jan Dawson. "Apple needs to offer dual SIM at some point to address people in those markets."
Apple is trying to reignite growth in China and other emerging markets around the world. In its most recent quarter, iPhone sales declined 30% year-over-year in China, where local phone makers Oppo and Vivo have taken the lead.
“As growth in the smartphone market has slowed,” said Dawson, “Apple needs to find ways to penetrate deeper into emerging markets. Any barriers, including people wanting dual SIMs, needs to come down one by one.”
With additional report from Yue Wang in Beijing.
