Years before eSIM, Steve Jobs wanted the first iPhone to have no SIM card slot

Recently, rumors circulated about Apple offering iPhones that only work with eSIM and not the traditional physical SIM card. Steve Jobs wanted an iPhone without a SIM slot years ago, long before the technology was even invented.

The story was revealed by former iPod VP Tony Fadell, who was recently interviewed by journalist Joanna Stern at a Computer History Museum special event.

According to Fadell’s account, Steve Jobs opposed the inclusion of a SIM slot on the iPhone during its early development. This was due to Jobs’ design preferences. According to Jobs, the father of the iPod, he told engineers and designers that he didn’t desire another hole in the iPhone .”

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Apple co-founder used Verizon to show that an iPhone with no SIM card slot was possible because the carrier is known for having a CDMA network rather than GMS. CDMA phones do not require SIM cards as they are directly connected to the network.

Fadell mentions that he used market data to convince Steve Jobs to switch to GSM instead of CDMA for his iPhone. The technology is still very popular. This, of course, was just one of the times when Apple engineers had to confront Jobs’ decisions.

And so, when you work with a highly opinionated person, especially when they can get V1 so right, and you’ve got to go against them, make sure you bring data. It couldn’t have been just one person.

iPod and Apple Retail Stores

Tony Fadell shared stories from the creation of the iPod once again. This time he mentioned how the idea of opening Apple Retail Stores was fundamental for Apple’s business model and, more importantly, for letting people know about the iPod.

Fadell explained that, at Apple, they believed that the best people to sell a product are the ones who created it. The company also needed space to tell the stories of its products, and to show people why they should buy them. That’s why Apple Retail is so strong .”

Build

In his new Build book, Fadell shared several other stories about his work at Apple. Fadell revealed that Steve Jobs opposed making the iPod compatible for Windows computers. Fadell also told about how former Google CEO Eric Schmidt made Jobs believe that web apps were the right choice for the iPhone.

You can now buy the book from Amazon and other bookstores. You can watch Tony Fadell’s complete interview on YouTube

Read also

• Tony Fadell talks about Steve Jobs’ controversial decisions on iPod and iPhone development
• Tony Fadell talks Steve Jobs, good a-holes vs bad a-holes, and much more in new book ‘Build’
• Tony Fadell describes competing teams working on different iPhone designs
• iPod godfather Tony Fadell describes early work on iPhone, time he almost lost a prototype in an airport