Originally Posted by Need

I could be wrong on this, but I think carrier version is $30 cheaper on Apple.com because you will still have to pay a $30 activation fee to the carrier later. If you buy the non-carrier one, you can just move the sim card over from the old phone to the new one without even telling AT&T that you switched phone. I used to do this all the time when the phone got wet and had to into a bag of rice LOL. Switch sim to backup phone.

All the iPhones on apple.com are unlocked if you pay in full and not using the carrier finance plan. The only difference is that the carrier version will either come with e-sim or a SIM card that is registered to your carrier. That's why they asked for your phone number.