iPhone Handoff Gets a Price Tag: £5 a Month on EE and $10 on Verizon

EE says it will be the first U.K. network to offer Apple's one-number, two-iPhone feature, free on its top plan. Verizon is charging double T-Mobile's rate, and AT&T has signaled no near-term plans.

LONDON - Apple’s iPhone Handoff, the iOS 27 feature that lets one phone number follow its owner between two iPhones, now has a British price. EE said this week that it will be the first U.K. network to offer the service, included with its Full Works Plus plan or sold for £5 a month on a rolling contract. The feature is “coming soon,” the operator said, without giving a date.

EE announced the pricing in a newsroom post by Luciano Oliveira, managing director of products for BT’s consumer business, timed to iPhone Duo pre-orders that opened Oct. 16 ahead of the phone’s Oct. 23 launch. “iPhone Handoff allows customers to easily switch back and forth between two iPhone models with the same mobile number,” the post said. EE described the service as offering “a level of flexibility and convenience that isn’t available anywhere else in the UK.”

*Screenshot: @9to5mac on X reporting EE's iPhone Handoff pricing*

In the United States, Verizon set its price at $10 a month, according to MacRumors, which reported that the figure was included in the carrier’s iPhone Duo announcement on Friday. Verizon said the feature will work across the iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro models. “Whether using the pocketable iPhone Duo on the go or iPhone 18 Pro for work, customers can switch active status between devices at any time while keeping full access to Verizon’s 5G network,” the carrier said. Verizon also called its support “coming soon,” and Apple has previously said Verizon would adopt the feature before the end of the year.

*Screenshot: @MacRumors on X reporting Verizon's $10 monthly charge*

That puts Verizon at twice the price of T-Mobile, which already supports the feature and charges $5 a month. AT&T, the third major U.S. carrier, recently suggested it has no imminent plans to support iPhone Handoff, MacRumors reported. In Germany, Deutsche Telekom charges €6.95 a month but includes the feature free in its MagentaMobil L and XL plans.

Apple’s support page explains how the feature works. Calls, voicemail, messages and Find My location move automatically to whichever iPhone is in use, and unlocking a phone makes the number active on it, with a “Switched to this iPhone” banner to confirm. The number is only active on one iPhone at a time. Both phones need iOS 27 or later, the same Apple Account, Wi-Fi and Messages in iCloud, plus an eSIM from a supporting carrier. Apple’s page lists only T-Mobile in the U.S. and Telekom in Germany so far, and notes that “carrier fees might apply.”

Apple's support page for setting up iPhone Handoff — *Screenshot: Apple Support*

The fine print matters for anyone tempted to try it. An Apple Watch stays paired to one iPhone and does not switch over. Some carrier services, such as call forwarding and caller ID, can only be managed on the main iPhone. And Apple says customers must contact their carrier to turn iPhone Handoff off, warning that a carrier may keep charging even after an eSIM is deleted from the phone.

The iPhone Duo color range Photo: Apple

The pairing the carriers are selling is an iPhone Duo with an iPhone 18 Pro, two premium phones on one number. Demand for the first half of that pair has been strong: launch-day iPhone Duo units sold out within minutes when pre-orders opened. For now, EE is the only U.K. network to announce support.

Sources: EE Newsroom, Luciano Oliveira, “iPhone Duo with iPhone Handoff: only on EE,” October 2026, https://newsroom.ee.co.uk/iphone-duo-with-iphone-handoff-only-on-ee/; MacRumors, Juli Clover, “Verizon Will Charge $10 a Month for iPhone Handoff,” Oct. 16, 2026, https://www.macrumors.com/2026/10/16/verizon-iphone-handoff-cost/; 9to5Mac, Michael Burkhardt, “EE announces iPhone Handoff pricing details for UK customers,” Oct. 17, 2026, https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/17/iphone-handoff-pricing-details-ee-uk/; 9to5Mac, “T-Mobile will charge $5/month for Apple’s new iPhone Handoff feature,” Sept. 10, 2026, https://9to5mac.com/2026/09/10/t-mobile-will-charge-5-month-for-apples-new-iphone-handoff-feature/; Apple Support, “Set up iPhone Handoff,” Sept. 9, 2026, https://support.apple.com/en-us/127274; @MacRumors on X, Oct. 16, 2026, https://x.com/MacRumors/status/2111240224898756632; @9to5mac on X, Oct. 17, 2026, https://x.com/9to5mac/status/2111485900425134554.

Elena Vos, Business. Elena Vos is a senior correspondent covering tech deals, markets, and corporate strategy. Previously reported business and finance for independent newsrooms; based in London.