T-Mobile Wants You to Pay $5/Month to Use This iOS 27 Feature
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If you’ve got deep enough pockets to pick up both an iPhone 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo this fall, then you’ll be happy to know that Apple has added a new iOS 27 feature that will make it far easier to switch back and forth.
While it flew under the radar at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), code found in early September brought iPhone Handoff into the spotlight, illustrating how it will let you let two iPhones share the same number with a minimum of fuss.
Apple’s Kaiann Drance also highlighted the feature during the company’s “Surprise and Shine” event last month, confirming earlier reports that it’s launching on T-Mobile and Telecom Germany (aka Deutsche Telekom — which is actually T-Mobile’s parent company). However, she added that we can also expect it to come to Verizon and EE by the end of the year, “with more carriers to follow.”
iOS 27 improves connectivity with smarter transitions between cellular and Wi-Fi networks and introduces iPhone Handoff that lets you use a single phone number across two iPhones. The number is instantly active on whichever iPhone you pick up.
Kaiann Drance, Apple’s Vice President of iPhone Marketing
While there’s no specific word on when we’ll see these expansions, iPhone Handoff is available from T-Mobile today for anyone using iOS 27 with an eSIM. However, it also comes with a catch: it seems the “Uncarrier” isn’t giving it away for free.
T-Mobile quietly introduced iPhone Handoff in its iPhone 18 Pro press release, noting that customers who want to take advantage of it will need to fork over an extra $5 per month:
T-Mobile is one of the first to support Apple’s new iPhone Handoff feature, where customers with two compatible iPhone models can use their T?Mobile number across both devices and choose which phone is active at any given time. The secondary iPhone works seamlessly, including essential T?Mobile services like calls, texts, data, mobile hotspot, Scam Shield and T-Satellite on eligible plans, allowing customers to get the most from two devices without clunky handoffs or the hassle of managing another number. iPhone 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.
That’s probably only mildly annoying if you’re planning to use the feature with this year’s flagships, but of course iPhone Handoff can be used between ANY two iPhones running iOS 27 — even a pair of old iPhone 11 models, as long as you’ve configured them with eSIMs instead of physical SIM cards.
If you think that feels like a bit of a money grab for using a single phone number on two iPhones that you own, you’re probably right. T-Mobile is likely rationalizing this by the need to support and provision two eSIMs and keep them semi-active on their network, but we can’t imagine that costs them anything that even vaguely resembles real money. Unlike a physical SIM card, an eSIM is built into your iPhone, so setting it up just involves exchanging a few bytes of data, and storing a few more in a back-end database.
There’s no word on what Verizon or EE plan to do when iPhone Handoff comes to their networks, but with T-Mobile setting the tone, we wouldn’t be surprised if charging for the feature becomes the norm, rather than the exception.
What You Need to Use iPhone Handoff
Other than having two iPhones running iOS 27, and paying $5 a month to T-Mobile to set it up, the requirements for iPhone Handoff are fairly straightforward.
According to Apple’s support document on the feature, the two devices must be connected to Wi-Fi, they must share the same Apple Account, be signed into FaceTime and iMessage with that same Apple Account, and having Messages in iCloud turned on to ensure messages sync across both devices. It’s unclear if that last one is a hard and fast rule or just a good idea, but we’d recommend following it either way, as your Messages apps could get really messy between the two devices otherwise.
Interestingly, Apple also says that iPhone Handoff can be used with a Dual eSIM setup — as long as both eSIMs are from carriers that support iPhone Handoff. In that case, the eSIMs will switch together simultaneously, although we’d expect you’ll need to pay T-Mobile $5 per line for this feature, as both must be set up for iPhone Handoff separately.
Lastly, Apple Watch users may find the process to be a bit more chaotic. Apple recommends you pair your Apple Watch to the iPhone you use the most, as iPhone Handoff will not switch your Apple Watch to the other iPhone. The Apple Watch will still connect via Wi-Fi or cellular (if so equipped), but can only communicate through the primary paired iPhone.
