EE becomes first UK carrier to price iPhone Handoff: £5 a month, free on Full Works Plus

EE has become the first UK carrier to publish a price for iPhone Handoff, the eSIM-sharing feature Apple introduced alongside iPhone Duo. According to 9to5Mac, which cites EE's own announcement, the service will cost £5 a month on a rolling contract, and customers on the carrier's Full Works Plus plan, which also bundles Fast Lane, will get it at no extra charge.

EE lists the feature as "coming soon" and has not given a launch date. Apple has said Handoff will be available by the end of the year.

What Handoff does

Handoff lets a person move a single eSIM between two iPhones that share one mobile number, rather than paying for a second line or swapping a physical SIM card. EE describes it as a way to switch back and forth between two iPhone models with the same number. The feature depends on carrier support, which is why each operator's pricing matters.

How the carriers compare

Apple named T-Mobile, Verizon, EE and Deutsche Telekom as launch partners at its September keynote. Prices have trickled out since then. T-Mobile has said it will charge $5 a month, treating Handoff as an add-on line. Verizon confirmed on October 16 that it will charge $10 a month. EE's £5 monthly fee is the first number from a European partner, and its inclusion in the top-tier Full Works Plus plan makes it the only one of the three so far to bundle the feature for some customers.

EE announced the pricing as part of its iPhone Duo pre-order offer. The carrier says the arrangement offers a level of flexibility that isn't available anywhere else in the UK. Apple's iPhone Duo ships on October 23 starting at $1,999 in the United States.

What to watch

Several questions remain open. EE has not said whether the £5 fee applies per eSIM or per account, how many devices can be linked, or whether existing customers can add the feature mid-contract. Apple's year-end target means Handoff is not yet confirmed for iPhone Duo's October 23 release.

Cupertino News will update this story if EE, Deutsche Telekom or other carriers publish further details.