Are smartphones in Japan any different than the same models supplied to US/Europe? For example, will they work as usual with a foreign sim-card if I ever decide to move abroad?
I am talking about mainstream ones, e.g. iPhone, Samsung, Pixel.
One difference I could spot, is the prices in Japan are pretty much the same as US, while Europe is slightly more expensive.
Edit: I mean carrier-free models.
18 comments
yes they are. Phone with “softbank, docomo, au” are locked to their provider so extra works required for them to be used elsewhere. Look for “Sim free” phones which are globally compatible: you can ask staffs at any second hand shop or go to Apple Store and buy one. Apple store iphone is always sim free
Some work on different frequencies and may not work with certain sim cards or providers overseas. You’ll need to check the frequencies the phone supports vs what frequencies the operators of the country you want to live in use.
I faced this issue with my Xiaomi 9T Pro (still the best phone ever). I got it while living in Vietnam and it was the ‘global’ version but not too aimed at Japan. So, it worked with, for example, Line Mobile (Softbank) but not Au or docomo.
You won’t be able to use the NFC based transportation cards with foreign phones.
Depending on the phone there could be different hardware inside. Some manufacturers use different hardware in different regions.
Also (not sure if all but definitely most of) the phones bought in Japan can’t turn off the camera sound.
As far as I know, the only difference is camera shutter sound can’t be off on japanese iphones.
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iPhones are very good at working abroad. Android phones are more hit or miss. If you go with a Pixel, it’s most likely to work in the most places. Other phones lack a lot of 5G bands especially for North America.
5G frequency bands can be an issue, but if don’t mind 4G LTE then SIM free phones should work.
I have always bought sim-free iPhones at the Apple Stores in Japan and have never had any issues connecting to mobile services traveling abroad. Smooth and fast service anywhere.
Not that I’m aware of. I have an iPhone I own outright and it works with any SIM I plop in there. Off the top of my head, I’ve used it in Thailand, Nepal, Korea, U.K. without a problem.
Dual physical sim, dual e-sim can vary from country to country for the same model of iPhone. That and shutter sound are the only differences I’ve come across
If you lookup iPhone tech specs (on the official Apple website), you’ll see several internal model numbers mentioned which are all marketed under the same name.
Those models (eg. A2650, A2889/90/91/92 are all sold as 14 Pro including the max there are a dozen models) differ in several ways, most noticeable was back for the X the Intel LTE modem (faster, used slightly less power) in the Japan models, whereas EU sold ones came with a Qualcomm, or for the 12 Pro US-sold ones sub6+mmWave capable 5G chip, Japan-sold ones just sub6.
Each model also can have a “different“ display, eg. LG (Japan), other regions a Samsung.
If you make products at that large quantities, you cannot source parts from just one supplier. Everything else is marketing, why US customers need mmWave first but others not.
Big thing to watch out for is that many carriers are ending 3g soon which is used for voice calls . So if your phone doesn’t have VOLTE support that works with a Japanese carrier your phone soon won’t be able to do voice calls
Korean Samsung Galaxy s22 ultra here. No problems so far, I can even get 5g, but apparently not the full range/spectrum or whatever else you wanna call it. Apparently some 5g bands are only used in Japan and not covered by most international devices (please double check it), so that’s something to consider while using international Samsung devices in Japan. Forgot to add, some apps like Google Pay and other payment apps might not work in Japan while using international devices, again I’m 💯 on it, so double check if this matters to you.
The Korean version also had the camera shutter ON by default, but I can easily disable it through the SetEdit app.
So far I’m extremely happy with my purchase. Lady year I paid 120-130k for it, while the Japanese version was being sold for like 180-190k. I’m getting all the updates as usual and next time if the price difference is worth it I’m gonna get another international version.
OnePlus phones as far as I know don’t work out of the box and need to have carrier settings tweaked.
One thing I’ve gleaned from looking through the tech spec sheets for iPhones recently is that none of the iPhones from Canada/Japan/Europe support 5G UWB, so if you want that you really are stuck with the American version. Other than that, 3/4G band support seems to be about the same. One note, you may get hassled if you try to bring the American iPhone onto a Japanese SIM / start a plan in person in store, as they do not have the required regulatory marks on them. If you just start your plan online and use ESIM, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Depending on the model (actual model number, not just the version model), US, European, Japanese, and International model phones support different cellular bands.
You can look up the bands specific to your phone’s model revision and match it to your intended region and carrier. Not supporting all of the bands for your carrier may mean you have reduced coverage (typically at LTE or 5G) or lower data rates.
The other issue with Japan and non-Japanese phones is Osaifu-Keitai e-payment support. With the exception of Iphone 8 and above (and hacking certain Androids models), non-Japanese phones will not support IC e-payment services (e.g. Suica/Pasmo).
There are some other issues around TELEC certification issues with some non-Japanese phones, but these are edge cases.
You can’t use おサイフケータイ with android phones from outside of Japan.