Apple recently became the first ever trillion-dollar company but that milestone isn’t going to stop the American giant from venturing into newer dimensions. If reports are to be believed, Apple might be developing its next iPhone with ‘Dual-SIM’ support feature to be exclusively meant for the Chinese market. Apple in the past has always retailed a standard version of iPhone globally. But, if true, this will be the first time where the company will launch separate versions of iPhone for a different market.
Taiwan’s United Daily News citing a tip from Foxconn employees claims that one of the iPhones expected this September will likely get a dual-SIM card feature said to be exclusive for the Chinese mainland. As per earlier reports, Apple was expected to launch three new devices this year but the UDN report suggests otherwise. The Taiwanese news portal report hints at existence of four different iPhone code numbers, one of which shall be the China-only variant.
The dual-SIM feature will be included in the upcoming 6.1-inch LCD-screened iPhone 9, a new model that will sit between the iPhone 8 and iPhone X in today’s lineup, the UDN report adds. Apple is said to be supporting a dual-SIM format known as “dual-SIM standby” (DSS), which requires the user to manually switch between the two SIM cards. DSS is an alternative to “dual-SIM active” (DSA), which maintains two cellular connections at once but consumes more battery charge.
However, Apple has a financial incentive to cater to the special demands of the Chinese market. Roughly 3 to 4 million people in China are said to use two SIM cards, which may be limiting Apple’s iPhone sales within the country. Reports have suggested people who might otherwise switch from Android have been holding off until there’s a dual-SIM iPhone, VentureBeat, a technology news portal, says.
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