The new iPads are eSIM-only

By Alex Choros

Last updated 09 May 2024

Cellular models of the new iPad Pro and new iPad Air no longer have a physical SIM slot, meaning buyers will need an eSIM to add mobile connectivity to Apple's latest tablets. This significantly narrows the choice of providers customers have if they want to get a data-only plan to go with their new iPad.

WhistleOut tracks 11 providers that sell data-only SIM in Australia. Out of these, only five offer eSIMs: Telstra, Vodafone, Optus, amaysim, and Lebara. Providers like Tangerine, Southern Phone, and SpinTel offer eSIM for their standard mobile plans, but not their data-only mobile broadband plans.

Telstra's budget brand, Belong, for example, has one of the most affordable data-only plans on the market, offering 20GB for $15 per month. A plan with Vodafone or Optus will cost $20 per month at a minimum, for comparison. While that’s not a huge increase, spending an extra $5 per month might not be ideal on what's effectively a secondary SIM.

These are the cheapest data-only SIMs in the WhistleOut database:

#1	Belong	Belong 20GB Data SIM Only Mobile Broadband 20GB Data $15/mth Min. cost $15 Link not supplied	$15/mth Min. cost $15	Link not supplied
#2	Southern Phone	Southern Phone Extra Small Mobile Broadband Mobile Broadband 7GB Data Contract (12 mths) $15/mth Min. cost $180 Link not supplied	$15/mth Min. cost $180	Link not supplied
#3	Vodafone Editor's Pick	Vodafone Editor's Pick Small Data SIM Only Plan Mobile Broadband 60GB Data Deal: Get 60GB of data each month (incl. 30GB bonus data) on the Small Data SIM Only plan. T&Cs apply. $20/mth Min. cost $20 Link not supplied	$20/mth Min. cost $20	Link not supplied
#4	Optus	Optus 20GB Optus Choice Plus Data Plan (M2M) Mobile Broadband 20GB Data $20/mth Min. cost $20 Link not supplied	$20/mth Min. cost $20	Link not supplied
#5	Lebara Mobile	Lebara Mobile Data Plan Small Mobile Broadband 40GB Data Prepaid (30 Days) Deal: Includes 10GB bonus data for first 3 recharges on Small Data Plan until 11.08.25 $22 Link not supplied	$22	Link not supplied
#6	Telstra	Telstra Upfront Data Plan Small Mobile Broadband 30GB Data Deal: Get 3 months Telstra Device Security. $25/mth Min. cost $25 Link not supplied	$25/mth Min. cost $25	Link not supplied
#7	Aussie Broadband	Aussie Broadband Regular Data Only 5G SIM Mobile Broadband 25GB Data $25/mth Min. cost $25 Link not supplied	$25/mth Min. cost $25	Link not supplied
#8	SpinTel	SpinTel Mobile Broadband 50GB Mobile Broadband 50GB Data $28/mth Min. cost $28 Link not supplied	$28/mth Min. cost $28	Link not supplied
#9	Tangerine Telecom Editor's Pick	Tangerine Telecom Editor's Pick 100GB Mobile Broadband Data Plan Mobile Broadband 100GB Data $34.90/mth Min. cost $34.90 Link not supplied	$34.90/mth Min. cost $34.90	Link not supplied
#10	ALDI mobile	ALDI mobile $95 Data Plan Mobile Broadband 30GB Data Prepaid (365 Days) $95 Link not supplied	$95	Link not supplied

The new iPad Pro and iPad Air are the first major devices to launch in Australia without a physical SIM card. Apple removing the SIM slot on them isn't all that surprising, given US iPhone models haven't had physical SIM support since the iPhone 14.

It also suggests the company may be looking to bring eSIM-only iPhones to more countries this year; there doesn't appear to be a single country where Apple is selling either new iPad with a physical SIM card. If the iPhone 16 goes eSIM-only, at least Australians have far more options for eSIM mobile plans than they do for eSIM data-only plans.

Looking for a new NBN plan?

These are the most popular NBN 50 plans with WhistleOut users this week:

#1	Exetel	Exetel Extra-value nbn50 nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $19/mth off for first 6 months - $60.99/mth for first 6 months, then $79.99/mth. $60.99/mth Min. cost $60.99 Go to Site	$60.99/mth Min. cost $60.99	Go to Site
#2	Tangerine Telecom	Tangerine Telecom Value Plus NBN nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $23/mth off for the first 6 mths, $59.90/month for first 6 months, then $82.90/month + 3 months BINGE. Ends 30.06.25 $59.90/mth Min. cost $59.90 Go to Site	$59.90/mth Min. cost $59.90	Go to Site
#3	Buddy Telco Editor's Pick	Buddy Telco Editor's Pick Value nbn - Unlimited nbn® 49/16 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: $63/month for first 6 months, then $75/month. Use promo code BUDDY50. Offer ends 18.05.25 $63/mth Min. cost $63 Go to Site	$63/mth Min. cost $63	Go to Site
#4	TPG	TPG nbn50 Unlimited Plan nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Get Price Beat Guarantee + $69.99/mth for first 6 months, then $84.99/mth. T&Cs apply. $69.99/mth Min. cost $69.99 Go to Site	$69.99/mth Min. cost $69.99	Go to Site
#5	Kogan Internet	Kogan Internet Silver Unlimited nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: $59.90/mth for first 6 months and revert back to $78.90/mth thereafter. Offer ends 30.05.25 $59.90/mth Min. cost $59.90 Go to Site	$59.90/mth Min. cost $59.90	Go to Site
#6	iiNet	iiNet nbn50 Liimitless nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Includes $15/mth off for 6 mths – $69.99/mth for first 6 months, then $84.99/mth. Use code SAVE15FOR6. Ends 06.05.25 $69.99/mth Min. cost $69.99 Go to Site	$69.99/mth Min. cost $69.99	Go to Site
#7	Dodo	Dodo nbn50 Unlimited Plan nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data 12mths Deal: Incl. $15/mth discount for 12 months based on the standard price $83.90/mth. Ends 29.04.25. T&Cs apply. $68.90/mth Min. cost $68.90 Go to Site*	$68.90/mth Min. cost $68.90	Go to Site
#8	Superloop	Superloop Extra-value nbn50/20 nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data Deal: Incl. $14/mth off for 6 months! $67/mth for 6 mths, then $81/mth + Free Amazon eero 6+ if you stay connected for 24 mths $67/mth Min. cost $67 Go to Site	$67/mth Min. cost $67	Go to Site
#9	Telstra	Telstra Upfront Internet Plan Essential nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data $105/mth Min. cost $105 Link not supplied	$105/mth Min. cost $105	Link not supplied
#10	iPrimus	iPrimus Standard Plus nbn50 Plan nbn® 50/17 Mbps Unlimited Data $84/mth Min. cost $84 Go to Site	$84/mth Min. cost $84	Go to Site