Apple has begun selling iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models in the U.S. without a contract or SIM card from a wireless carrier.
This makes it possible to buy an iPhone without going through any sort of middleman, and without any long-term obligation to a carrier. The phones are "unlocked," which means they can be activated for use with any carrier's SIM card: AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc. Of course, they're a lot more expensive than buying a phone with a contract -- an iPhone 6 with a two-year contract starts at $199.
The 16GB iPhone 6 without a SIM card starts at $649, with increases in storage going up $100 a level. The iPhone 6 Plus starts at $749, with the same $100 price hike to 64GB and then to 128GB. This is all on par with buying a phone under T-Mobile, which has already offered the same prices without a contract.
Unlocked iPhone models are usually available a few months after initial sales begin. 9to5Mac, which first spotted that the SIM-free phones were for sale, speculated that the unlocked iPhone 6 was delayed because of the runaway success of the phones.
The new iPhones broke Apple's own sales record, selling 10 million units in the first weekend of retail.
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