You can now buy an iPhone X from Apple without having to choose a wireless carrier (AAPL)

iPhone X

Apple is now selling the iPhone X without a SIM card.
That means these unlocked phones can be purchased at full price and activated with a carrier at a later time.
An unlocked SIM-free iPhone is attractive for travelers who might want to use their iPhone overseas with a local SIM card.

Apple quietly added an option to buy an iPhone X on Monday without a SIM card.

This means that you can buy an iPhone from Apple without specifying which carrier you'd like to use it on.

The SIM-free iPhone X is also "unlocked," which means travelers can simply swap in a compatible SIM card and it will work — it's not tied to the carrier you bought it on.

Buying a SIM-free iPhone X also means that you'll have to pay full price up-front: $999 for the 64GB model, and $1149 for the 256GB model.

Here's how Apple describes the SIM-free program, via 9to5Mac:

“SIM-free” means your iPhone doesn’t ship with a carrier SIM card. The SIM-free iPhone sold on apple.com and at the Apple Store is unlocked. That means you’re free to use a SIM card from any carrier that provides service for iPhone.

The addition of this new iPhone X purchase option suggests that Apple has more supply of the iPhone X than earlier feared. In fact all SIM-free iPhone X orders will be delivered by December 12, or in a week with plenty of time before Christmas. If you're close to an Apple store, you can pick your order up on Tuesday.

Shortly after the iPhone X went up for pre-order, shipping estimates from Apple slipped from days to weeks, sometimes as long as 5-6 weeks after order. But in recent weeks, Apple's shipping estimates have come down to a week or so, and some people who pre-ordered got their iPhone X weeks ahead of schedule.

iPhone X SIM free