Updated

Updated · Notebookcheck.net · Sep 7

Apple Expands 1 Phone Number Across 2 iPhones in iOS 27 as Carriers Must Support Handoff

Updated

Updated · Notebookcheck.net · Sep 7

Apple Expands 1 Phone Number Across 2 iPhones in iOS 27 as Carriers Must Support Handoff

Q: Could Apple's new iOS 27 cellular handoff secretly be a master plan to make you buy two iPhones instead of one?

Probably not as a “secret master plan,” but it could still help Apple sell more iPhones. What is reported so far points to a practical feature with real utility: iOS 27 would let one phone number move between two iPhones without physically swapping a SIM or redoing an eSIM transfer. The active line simply follows the iPhone most recently unlocked, and only one device can use calls and cellular data at a time. That makes it less like selling a second line and more like making an existing second iPhone easier to use. The commercial logic, however, is hard to miss. The timing lines up with Apple’s expected push into new form factors, including a larger and far more expensive iPhone Ultra or foldable model. A seamless cellular handoff would make it easier for a customer to justify owning both a big premium iPhone and a smaller everyday one. In that sense, the feature lowers friction for a two-iPhone lifestyle and could expand hardware sales at the high end. Still, there are limits that weaken the idea of a broad upsell scheme. The feature reportedly needs carrier support, with T-Mobile in the U.S. and Deutsche Telekom in Germany mentioned early, so availability may be narrow at launch. It also does not let both iPhones stay fully active on the same number at once, which reduces its appeal compared with a true multi-device plan. So the stronger reading is that Apple is solving a niche user problem in a way that also happens to support a profitable new hardware strategy.

3 articles · Updated · Notebookcheck.net · Sep 7

iOS 27 will let users activate one SIM-linked phone number across two iPhones, with the number shifting to whichever device was unlocked last.
Carrier support is required for Apple’s Handoff feature; T-Mobile in the U.S. is cited as one network that already supports it.
System Settings under Cellular must enable Handoff on both phones, while the physical SIM or eSIM stays installed in just one iPhone.
Only the iPhone currently holding the active number can place calls and use mobile data, making the switch a one-device-at-a-time handoff rather than simultaneous service.
Apple is expected to bring the feature to older iPhones when iOS 27 launches this fall, just as it prepares to unveil the larger iPhone Ultra this week.