German Apple Stores Drop Most Carriers Iphones Ipads Available On Deutsche Telekom Only

German Apple Stores have dropped Vodafone and O2 contracts for both iPhones and iPads, offering them only with Deutsche Telekom contracts or SIM-free. The change affects only post-paid contracts: pre-paid SIMs remain available on Vodafone.

The change in policy was reported by Teltarif and confirmed to us by two different Apple Stores in the country.

Customers wanting service with other carriers can still buy them from Vodafone and O2 — the new policy applies only to iOS devices sold in Apple’s own retail stores.

Germany has been confirmed as one of the first-round markets for the Apple Watch. Tim Cook last month met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, discussing data privacy, security, net neutrality, education and environmental protection.

German Apple Stores launched an iPhone trade-in program for customers looking to save money and upgrade to new devices almost a year ago.