iPhone Handoff is here. Most UK networks aren't

Apple's new iOS 27 software includes a feature called iPhone Handoff, which lets two iPhones share one phone number. Whichever one you unlock becomes your phone. This week, America's AT&T said it has no plans to support it. In the UK, only one network has said it will: EE, "later this year", at a price nobody has announced.

So a feature that sounds like pure convenience turns out to depend entirely on your network, and possibly on a monthly fee.

One number, two phones, one at a time

Apple's support page explains the idea simply: "Your calls, voicemail, messages (iMessage, RCS, or SMS/MMS), and Find My location automatically move to whichever iPhone you're using." You don't swap SIM cards or reactivate anything. You just pick up the other phone and unlock it.

There's an important catch in the wording, though. "Your phone number will only be active on one iPhone at a time." This isn't two phones ringing at once. It's one number that follows you from handset to handset.

The setup has a few conditions. Both phones need iOS 27, the same Apple Account, Messages in iCloud switched on and an eSIM from a network that supports the feature. One phone is named your "main iPhone", and some network services, such as call forwarding, can only be managed from that one. Apple also says your Apple Watch won't switch between phones automatically, and some Wallet items "might only work on one device at a time".

Networks hold the keys

Because the phone number lives with your network, Apple can't switch this on by itself. Apple's support page lists just two networks today: T-Mobile in the US and Telekom in Germany. MacRumors reports T-Mobile charges $5 a month (US-only pricing) and Telekom charges €6.95 a month. Apple's own page warns that "carrier fees might apply".

AT&T, the original iPhone network in the US, has declined for now. Its statement, reported by AppleInsider, is a fine example of saying no without saying no: "While we see that there could be potential in capabilities like iPhone Handoff, our focus remains on delivering innovations that make life simpler and keep customers connected with confidence."

The UK: EE, and silence

Over here, EE announced on 12 September that it will be "the first in the UK to support Apple's new iPhone Handoff feature", letting customers "easily switch back and forth between two iPhone models with the same mobile number". MacRumors says Apple itself has named EE, alongside Verizon, as coming later this year. There's no launch date and no price.

As Wi-Fi Planet noted this week, no other UK network has said anything. That means customers of Vodafone, Three, O2 and the many smaller networks that run on their masts have no idea whether they'll get this, or when.

Here's Ada's take. The timing isn't an accident. EE's announcement sat in the same press release as Apple's iPhone Duo, the first foldable iPhone, which EE says goes on pre-order on 16 October and on sale on 23 October. EE also describes the Duo as eSIM-only. A flagship foldable with no SIM tray is exactly the kind of device people might want to leave at home some days in favour of an older, cheaper iPhone.

Who might actually use it? Engadget suggests three groups:

• People with two phones already: anyone juggling separate work and personal handsets.
• Travellers: carrying a cheaper second phone abroad while the expensive one stays at home.
• Upgraders: people moving between an old iPhone and a new one.

For everyone else, it's a solution in search of a second iPhone. And if EE follows the T-Mobile and Telekom model, it will be a monthly add-on, not a free extra.

To be fair to EE

EE is the only UK network to commit to anything, which is more than its rivals have managed. Supporting a feature like this means changing how numbers and eSIMs are handled behind the scenes, and that takes time and testing. Charging for it isn't outrageous either. According to AppleInsider, Telekom in Germany already treats it as part of a multi-SIM add-on. If EE prices it sensibly and the others follow, UK iPhone owners will get a genuinely useful option. The problem is that, for now, it's a promise rather than a product.

Mind the hype. One number, two iPhones, and for most UK networks, zero comment.

Sources: Apple Support, EE Newsroom, MacRumors, MacRumors (carriers), AppleInsider, Engadget, Wi-Fi Planet