Mar 18, 2022, 11:17 AM
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Apple’s first budget phone with 5G connectivity, the iPhone SE 3, went on sale today, and Bloomberg has now revealed the existence of a new “on-device authentication” feature that will cut out the middlemen and speed up the buying process.
Right now, when you buy an iPhone in the US at an Apple retail store or through the company’s website, you are asked to provide your wireless phone number as well as the last four digits of the Social Security number. This helps carriers conduct a credit check and greenlight the transaction. The downside is that this adds time to the buying process and also results in a poor customer experience in scenarios when activation servers are overloaded.
That will change starting with the iPhone SE 3. Consumers who choose AT&T or T-Mobile as their carriers will not be asked to provide the aforementioned details or choose a network plan at the time of purchase. Instead, they will be allowed to take their new phone home and enter the data and connect to the carrier after they switch on the device.
Apple’s website has already adopted the new process and stores will begin following it from March 29. The feature will also be extended to Verizon users at a later unspecified date. Apple will also allow consumers to purchase the iPhone SE 3 in stores with Apple Card monthly installment plans without connecting the device to a carrier.
Although this process is currently only for the iPhone SE, it is likely it will also be used for the iPhone 14 series that will allegedly be announced in September. This is a part of a push by Apple to reduce reliance on carriers. Apple and other phone manufacturers have already started selling eSIM-compatible phones that makes it simpler for consumers to connect to their preferred carrier and switch to a different operator if they want. There is also chatter that Apple may eliminate the SIM card tray altogether in the future in favor of embedded SIMs.
The new iPhone SE 5G has the same design as its 2020 predecessor but is powered by the company’s latest A15 Bionic processor, which has brought some new camera tricks to the phone. At $429, it is a little more expensive than the $399 iPhone SE 2, but still a lot more affordable than the base iPhone 13 model, which starts at $699.
Source: https://www.phonearena.com/news/iphone-se-3-on-device-authentication_id139139
