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Euro carriers stocking nano-SIM cards ahead of iPhone 5 launch

There's no official announcement from Apple about the inclusion of a nano-SIM in the new iPhone, expected sometime this fall, but European carriers are buying as many of the chips as they can.

Joe Aimonetti MacFixIt Editor
Joe is a seasoned Mac veteran with years of experience on the platform. He reports on Macs, iPods, iPhones and anything else Apple sells. He even has worked in Apple retail stores. He's also a creative professional who knows how to use a Mac to get the job done.
Joe Aimonetti

Apple

According to a report by the Financial Times, mobile operators in Europe are stockpiling nano-SIM chips in anticipation of Apple including the new technology in the next iteration of the iPhone.

Though actions like this would suggest an impending launch, no official word has come from Apple as to when we can expect to actually see the iPhone 5 (or the new iPhone?)

The nano-SIM design was approved by the mobile phone industry's standards group earlier this year and should allow Apple to save even more space in its tightly designed iPhone interior.

The Financial Times cites two sources who claim that telecom companies are stocking millions of the chips in warehouses, anticipating high demand when Apple's next iPhone is released.

This may be a reaction to the lack of preparation when Apple switched to micro-SIM cards when it released the iPhone 4 and the first-generation iPad. Many carriers didn't have enough micro-SIMs to meet demand, a situation that one source told the Financial Times the phone companies did not want to repeat.

Other phone makers will likely adopt Apple's nano-SIM design as it is 40 percent smaller than the current micro-SIMs found in many smartphones.

Does including a nano-SIM card in the new iPhone give Apple a competitive advantage? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!