Apple has filed for a patent for usage of dual sim card technology . The patent is filed in the name of inventor Li Su, who heads the cellular software department at Apple Inc.
Though, Dual Sim technology has been around (and popular) for quite a time now in India and other South East Asian countries but there must be something unique if Apple wants to be granted a patent. The patent for dual sim tray has been filed at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as well as at the State Intellectual Property Office of China to fend off chances of technology piracy at Apple’s production facilities in China.
After the demise of the great Steve Jobs, Apple has failed to deliver to the expectations of millions of Apple fan-boys worldwide. The US and other developed world markets have already saturated to their peak and have little or no growth prospects in terms of smartphone penetration. India followed by other South East Asian countries are the major playgrounds for Apple, Android biggies like Samsung as well as plethora of OEMs and smartphone startups.
Apple has a meager 2 percent marketshare in India and is widely viewed as a luxury brand among Indians. Moreover, Indians have to pay Rs.10000 to Rs.15000 more as compared to other Asian neighbours due to the heavy taxes and custom duty levied by Indian government. Apple has been negotiating with the government to get some tax exemptions helping it to reduce the prices of iPhone in India. It has also shown interest to assemble Apple products in India under the “Make In India” scheme to be eligible for tax exemptions.
India is poised to be the number one market for smartphone sales even surpassing China not in the near future but in the present itself. Yes! India may become the top smartphone market in 2017. This makes it impossible for Apple to neglect the customer sentiments and the localization needs to entice Indian users who are a little tough to tame and squeeze value out of their money.
Thus, the new Dual-Sim tray patent seems to be a move by Apple to integrate Dual Sim usage capability in the iPhone 8, dual-sim being a major deciding factor for smartphone purchases in India. iPhone 8 is stated to be released later next year around September-October 2017. If Apple really includes a dual-sim feature, even in only few variants of iPhone 8 then it is going to be a game-changer and a major upgrade.
Most iPhone users in India(and around the world, I am sure) carry two phones, one iPhone(of-course) and the other an Android smartphone of their choice to accommodate the lack of dual sim feature in iPhone. More people may switch to Apple iPhone if they just have to invest in one dual sim iPhone instead of carrying an iPhone(to satiate their ego… most of the times… I am also a proud iPhone user 😛 ) and an Android smartphone for its customizability.
iPhone 8 is also rumored to have a bezel-less display. The leaked image below suggests that the new iPhone 8 may have an end-to-end display to give it a sleek, futuristic look. Even the Home button is believed to become a thing of the past. Have a look!
The new year 2017 also marks the 10th anniversary of iPhone after its revolutionizing launch by Steve Jobs in 2007. iPhone ushered the world into a smartphone revolution and also changed the fates for Apple helping it become one of the most valuable companies in the world.
We will keep you posted on all rumors and official announcements regarding Apple iPhone 8 (iPhone 7s as well). Just subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear the rumors!
Do you favor the addition of dual sim feature in future iPhones? Do you like the rumored Bezel-less display? Share you opinions in the comments section below.
Leave a Reply