Verizon is planning to support Apple’s iPhone Handoff by the end of the year, putting a second major US carrier in line to back a feature that keeps one number active on two iPhones at the same time. The move follows T-Mobile’s launch of the service, with an extra $5 added to the monthly phone bill for customers who want it.
The timing matters because Apple announced iPhone Handoff last month, and people who use more than one iPhone are now trying to figure out which carrier will let them use it and what they will pay. Apple says one phone is the main phone and the other is the secondary phone, and when either device is unlocked, the number becomes active on that phone and takes calls there.
T-Mobile is the first US carrier to support the feature, but its rollout is not as seamless as the pitch suggests. The carrier says the secondary iPhone should not have any other service attached to it, and the feature cannot be used with a T-Mobile business account at launch. That leaves the option open in theory, but narrower in practice for people who expected a simple handoff between devices.
The carrier split also leaves a cost question hanging over Verizon’s plan. T-Mobile’s $5 monthly charge is the clearest pricing point so far, while Verizon has only said it is planning support by the end of the year. AT&T is not expected to support the feature, according to the reporting, which means the market for iPhone Handoff is still being defined as much by carrier policy as by Apple’s software.
For now, the feature is most relevant to people who want to move between a main iPhone and a secondary iPhone without giving up the number they rely on. Apple also says the active phone is the one that receives calls and is used for Find My, which makes the setup feel less like a duplicate line and more like a number that follows the handset that is currently in use. The unanswered question is whether Verizon will match T-Mobile’s fee or set a different price when support arrives later this year.
