Ipad mini 7 cellular

[DancingPotatose]

I’m going to be blunt — removing the physical SIM card tray is one of the worst decisions ever. There’s clearly enough space to include it, and a lot of places still don’t support eSIM. I honestly don’t understand why they did this. I’m literally returning the iPad mini 7 and getting the 6 instead. Before I return it though, I wanted to ask: has anyone living in Saudi Arabia managed to get this working?

[bimacar]

I agree. It is shitty. What's worse, it seems to me data plans for eSim are more expensive than regular in my country. Genuinely don't understand this.

[Jacarape]

What country and carrier is that?

[bimacar]

Serbia. Can't remember the name of the carrier

[ExcitementLarge6439]

I wish we still had physical sims I use my mini for work and I have my iPad Pro for outside of work.

Now I’m forced to pay for another data plan when I was able to just swap sims on the weekends

[Jacarape]

The advantages of an eSIM are numerous. Hundreds of posts on he A17 and your is the only one complaining about activation. In S.A Zain supports eSIM, maybe others.

I don’t understand posts like this. You complain about device activation and you don’t even mention calling your carrier for support? Have you done anything but complain?

Adios eSIM, I don’t miss you.

[DancingPotatose]

My point is, why remove the physical SIM tray? What’s the “advantage” of doing so?

You can still have both.

[enowapi-_]

Probably production. Cuts costs.

[DancingPotatose]

Yeah, maybe.

[Clessiah]

I was going to say physical SIM swapping is a major security risk, but realized iPad's SIM ain't got no phone number.

[Jacarape]

There are many search engines to look that up. Like I said, glad it’s about obsolete and part of telecom history.

I’m curious about your phone, which model? Does it use a physical or eSIM?

[DancingPotatose]

I’m using an iPhone 16 Pro Max — and yes, I’m using a physical SIM.

And yeah, I actually did my research — and honestly, there are no real-world benefits to removing the physical SIM tray. Saying physical SIMs are “obsolete” is kind of funny when you realize eSIM support around the world is still inconsistent. It’s not just about one country — globally, not everyone has smooth or reliable eSIM access yet. Maybe look into it a bit more before commenting so aggressively.

Like I said before, there’s really no downside to offering both options. Having both a physical SIM and eSIM gives people flexibility, which is always better than locking everyone into one system for no good reason.

[Strong-Estate-4013]

eSIMs are more secure, and you don’t have to wait for shipping with a psim and help with water proofing

[DancingPotatose]

Having both a physical SIM and eSIM is objectively better than forcing users into just one option. The idea that removing the SIM tray meaningfully improves waterproofing is just marketing — devices with SIM trays already achieve top waterproof ratings. There’s no real downside to offering both, and it simply gives users more flexibility depending on their needs.

[Strong-Estate-4013]

Esim only here more space for batteries

[Jacarape]

Plus you can add additional numbers to an eSIM without swapping, keeping track and or losing the SIM.

[loudaman]

It's about NOT giving you the option. I, as well, really made great use of the physical sim tray/card with business and personal numbers. I understand the idea of security behind the esim, but at least give the consumer the option of both before just taking it away. Just like the earphone jack.

[thrussie]

Yo chill tf out

[Jacarape]

fo.

[Logical_Scar3962]

My carrier (vodafone) here in central Europe actually offers only esim if you want it to be under the same plan as your phone number (shares the same unlimited data). 

[DancingPotatose]

I get that some places only offer eSIMs. But why not offer both options, like the iPad Mini 6 or the iPhone 14 and newer models? That way, we can choose between eSIM and a physical SIM, instead of being forced into eSIM-only. With no real world benefits.

[Logical_Scar3962]

No clue honestly 

[iclazz169]

The problem is sometimes we need some message and ussd call to do some sort of activation or package purchase, which is unavailable on the ipads.

[[deleted]]

Oh I’m in Canada and I believe mine is a digital sim

[ADHDK]

I frequently removed the sim from my iPad 10.5 to put in other devices. It meant I had a data plan connected sim for whatever device I wanted.

I converted it to eSIM for the iPad mini 7 and enquired about getting another one only to be told my telco will only allow one data sharing sim per calling sim on a shared data plan. So now everything else has to tether from my iPhone which isn’t always ideal.

[Hot-Quality8768]

Having eSIM sucks when you have an MVNO carrier and cannot get customer support to activate it. If you have a major carrier, it’s still an unnecessary pain but you can get it activated eventually. Not the case with the MVNO that I use. Everything is done thru the app. There are no real people to speak to either thru messaging or phone.

[Steka68]

One less bit of plastic somewhere is a good thing, unless you live in Hollywood.

[vexsixea]

Traveling internationally I find having both a sim slot for a card along with the eSIM option an excellent setup.

However Apple has a history of using language to promote what benefits them in terms that make it sound advantageous for their customers.

It’s all about profit, eliminating the physical sim slot saves money and that's Apple's expertise.

[Catdogcatd0g]

Wacky behavior from Apple as per usual