{"id":894068,"date":"2026-09-16T12:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T12:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/894068\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T12:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T12:28:12","slug":"t-mobile-is-the-first-carrier-to-support-apples-iphone-handoff-but-itll-cost-5-a-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/894068\/","title":{"rendered":"T-Mobile Is the First Carrier to Support Apple\u2019s iPhone Handoff, but It\u2019ll Cost $5 a Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new iPhone Handoff<\/a> feature in iOS 27<\/a> is a clever idea: If you have two iPhones<\/a>, you can use either one with a single phone number \u2014 the system automatically activates your number on whichever phone is unlocked. And like Apple\u2019s Handoff to Mac and iPad, your texts, calls, voicemails and Find My location follow you, too.<\/p>\n

At launch, however, the feature is supported only by T-Mobile in the US, and the carrier is charging $5 a month to use it. And while Verizon support is expected by the end of the year, according to Apple, AT&T appears to be sitting this feature out for now.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"iPhone<\/p>\n

iPhone Handoff is similar to what the Apple Watch<\/a> has done with data for a few generations, where taking off one watch and putting on another automatically switches all of your information, such as activity tracking, to it. For example, some people use one watch during the day \u2014 perhaps the rugged Apple Watch Ultra \u2014 and switch to a slimmer, older Apple Watch at night, allowing the first to charge for the morning.<\/p>\n

But replicating that behavior to the iPhone requires coordination with cellular providers<\/a>. Each phone\u2019s eSIM needs to be configured for iPhone Handoff by a carrier, and service needs to switch cleanly on the network side.<\/p>\n

Ironically, the Apple Watch gets left out of the iPhone Handoff transaction: Your watch remains paired with just one watch<\/a>, communicating with it via Wi-Fi or cellular (if that\u2019s an option). \u201cIf neither is available,\u201d Apple writes, \u201ccalls, messages, notifications, certain health and fitness features, Siri AI or other app experiences relayed from your paired iPhone may not be available.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its press release<\/a> about offering the iPhone 18 Pro, T-Mobile writes, \u201ciPhone Handoff is available on any iPhone with iOS 27 via iPhone settings and ready to use from day one on the new iPhone 18 Pro lineup and iPhone Duo. T-Mobile is introducing the feature at $5\/month.\u201d<\/p>\n

When I reached out to T-Mobile asking about the charge, a spokesperson wrote via email, \u201cThe $5\/month charge reflects the added service that powers the experience on both devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

While iPhone Handoff appears to seamlessly switch your eSIM just by picking up the phone you want to use, it\u2019s not yet clear what else is different with this process versus just transferring your eSIM manually<\/a> using your iPhone\u2019s settings menu.<\/p>\n

Notably absent from Apple\u2019s news was the other major US carrier, AT&T. I contacted a spokesperson there to learn more about the company\u2019s plans for the feature, but it sounds like it\u2019s not a priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we see that there could be potential in capabilities like iPhone Handoff,\u201d the spokesperson replied, \u201cour focus remains on delivering innovations that make life simpler and keep customers connected with confidence.\u201d They then pointed to \u201cexisting eSIM activation and transfer options across compatible devices.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to T-Mobile, iPhone Handoff is currently supported by Telekom in Germany. The UK carrier EE will also support the feature later this year, according to Apple.<\/p>\n

A Verizon representative didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Jeff\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJeff Carlson\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSenior Writer\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJeff Carlson writes about mobile technology at CNET, from cellular phone plans to devices and emerging technology.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSee full bio\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The new iPhone Handoff feature in iOS 27 is a clever idea: If you have two iPhones, you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[64,63,105],"class_list":["post-894068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}