HACKER Q&A
📣 CPLX

Why can't I buy a MacBook that is connected to the cellular network


This just mystifies me. It's such a spectacularly and obviously useful addition, and technically almost trivial to implement, and yet it doesn't exist. My iPad Pro of course can do it, and so can my iPhone, but the totally maxed-out 16" MacBook Pro can't.

I'm on the road constantly, and the ability to just use my laptop whenever/wherever I want without having to fuss with a hotspot, and to have graceful failover from wifi (like if I'm at a hotel on a Zoom call) would be worth quite a bit.

I know I would pay basically any price for this, and I can't be the only one.

And yet.

  👤 dredmorbius Accepted Answer ✓
You can pay a price of $200--300 for a mobile cellular hotspot which provides this capability.

That's a hefty premium for a laptop, and is best approached with an external peripheral which multiple devices can share.

<https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-mobile-hotspots>

👤 schappim
Qualcomm is the reason. They charge a royalty of between 2.275% and 3.25% of the net selling price of the device, depending on the cellular mode used.
👤 tacostakohashi
Remember the good old days, when laptops could take PCMCIA / PC Card / Express Card peripherals?
👤 al2o3cr 

     technically almost trivial to implement
Having to split each machine SKU into many to accommodate different regions + carrier locking isn't as "trivial" as you think
👤 hinata08
I think American companies assume that a cellular connection is too expensive.

I had the same thought for Garmin devices, which have to be paired with the app on your phone to get online function (despite some features using wifi)

If you need the phone with a specific app, you might as well use Strava. At least it's compatible with any phone (Garmin devices can only do the bluetooth pairing with specific models)

Why don't these companies just give a sim card port, indeed.

👤 mytailorisrich
Well, you obviously wouldn't pay "any price" for this...

I suspect it's a trade-off for Apple and they concluded that people who might need that can easily hotspot through their phone and thus wouldn't necessarily pay hundreds for a built-in cellular modem that would also require a second cellular plan.