You’re not trying to do anything shady when you search how to create apple id without phone number. You’re trying to get work done.
Maybe you want a clean iCloud account for app testing. Maybe you need a separate Apple ID for a campaign account that shouldn’t be tied to your personal SIM. Maybe you just don’t want Apple to anchor yet another service to the same number you use everywhere else.
Then you hit the same wall everyone hits. Apple asks for phone verification.
That’s the primary issue. Not whether Apple prefers a number. It does. The question is what still works, what only works sometimes, and what makes sense depending on whether you need one account for private use or a repeatable workflow for multiple accounts.
Why You Might Need an Apple ID Without a Phone Number
The most common scenario is straightforward. You buy or reset a device, start setup, and Apple pushes you toward phone verification before you can finish creating the account.