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bszelda

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 26, 2012
24
0
So...I would like to get one whenever it's released but I am just wondering if they will be available for purchase without a contract on launch day. I assume that they will be available with a contract. The reason is that I'm not sure that I want to renew my 2 year contract with ATT (I'm eligible for the upgrade)...
 
No clue, but I posted anyways.

er, you might not be able to until a month later or so.
 
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I highly doubt they'll be available for the first few months. Rumors suggest Apple will have a restricted supply, more so than years past. There is a component supply issue already. Therefore Apple will be starting out upon release with less units than the original plan.
 
Ugh...yeah I bet it will be only available for contracts at first. Looks like I may have to extend my contract to get one early... :-/
 
Shouldn't you be able to pay full price at AT&T, instead of waiting for a unlocked version from Apple?
 
.. The reason is that I'm not sure that I want to renew my 2 year contract with ATT (I'm eligible for the upgrade)...

If you do not renew, where will you get service and how much will it cost?

But - since NOBODY knows what the phone will have, what the contract price will be, what the off contract price will be.... pretty hard to answer anyways.
 
If you do not renew, where will you get service and how much will it cost?

But - since NOBODY knows what the phone will have, what the contract price will be, what the off contract price will be.... pretty hard to answer anyways.

You don't have to be on contract to get service. You only sign a contract to get your iPhone cheaper.
 
I highly doubt they'll be available for the first few months. Rumors suggest Apple will have a restricted supply, more so than years past. There is a component supply issue already. Therefore Apple will be starting out upon release with less units than the original plan.
Lolwut? Source please.

Quite to the contrary, many leaks suggest they'll be more available than before.
 
You can always buy the phone contract free and pay full retail pricing on launch day, but if you want an unlocked phone you may have to wait.
 
I would bet if you bought an AT&T iPhone... you could pay full price, but it would still be an AT&T phone, not an unlocked phone.

If you want it unlocked, you have to wait for sure. But I do not see why they wouldn't let you pay full price.

I just sold my old iPhone 4 on eBay (the girlfriend got my 4S), and I picked up the GS3 from ATT to use until the new phone comes out. This way I can give Android another try (I had the GS2 for work, did not like it though) while I wait for the new phone assuming I do not keep the S3
 
If you pay full price with AT&T and then finish your existing contract, won't they unlock it once you're month to month? Isn't that their policy now?
 
You can always buy the phone contract free and pay full retail pricing on launch day, but if you want an unlocked phone you may have to wait.

That's all nice and logical, but demand is such that no vendor , or Apple will sell full price on day one.

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Ugh...yeah I bet it will be only available for contracts at first.\
You would be 100% correct :)
 
That's all nice and logical, but demand is such that no vendor , or Apple will sell full price on day one.

I could walk into apple on day 1 and buy my iphone for the full retail price tied to my at&t account w/o extending it out. The same way if you were not due for an upgrade they would let you buy the phone at full retail price. I think many people are confusing a phone at full retail price and an unlocked phone you can use on any carrier.

You are always allowed to buy a phone at full retail pricing. When you walk into apple on launch day, they would tell you that you cannot upgrade, so would have to pay the full price. They would NOT tell you, "sorry you cannot upgrade, there is no option for you."
 
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That's all nice and logical, but demand is such that no vendor , or Apple will sell full price on day one

Wow, so the iPhone 3GS, 4 and three 4S's we bought on each launch day at full price, unlocked, direct from Apple were figments of my imagination?

Darn :confused:
 
I could walk into apple on day 1 and buy my iphone for the full retail price tied to my at&t account w/o extending it out. The same way if you were not due for an upgrade they would let you buy the phone at full retail price. I think many people are confusing a phone at full retail price and an unlocked phone you can use on any carrier.

You are always allowed to buy a phone at full retail pricing. When you walk into apple on launch day, they would tell you that you cannot upgrade, so would have to pay the full price. They would NOT tell you, "sorry you cannot upgrade, there is no option for you."

This
 
I could walk into apple on day 1 and buy my iphone for the full retail price tied to my at&t account w/o extending it out. The same way if you were not due for an upgrade they would let you buy the phone at full retail price. I think many people are confusing a phone at full retail price and an unlocked phone you can use on any carrier.

You are always allowed to buy a phone at full retail pricing. When you walk into apple on launch day, they would tell you that you cannot upgrade, so would have to pay the full price. They would NOT tell you, "sorry you cannot upgrade, there is no option for you."
Whatever you say. Good Luck.
 
I could walk into apple on day 1 and buy my iphone for the full retail price tied to my at&t account w/o extending it out. The same way if you were not due for an upgrade they would let you buy the phone at full retail price. I think many people are confusing a phone at full retail price and an unlocked phone you can use on any carrier.

You are always allowed to buy a phone at full retail pricing. When you walk into apple on launch day, they would tell you that you cannot upgrade, so would have to pay the full price. They would NOT tell you, "sorry you cannot upgrade, there is no option for you."

You are 100% correct.
 
Whatever you say. Good Luck.

I know this, b.c I have done this. Even the day they let you pre-order it would tell me on apple's website "you are only eligible for full retail pricing" and I can order on the day everyone else can.
 
That's all nice and logical, but demand is such that no vendor , or Apple will sell full price on day one.


Buying an unlocked iPhone and buying a phone for a specific carrier are two totally different things. You have always been able to buy a locked iPhone on day 1 for full price.
 
You can get the "off-contract" phones at full price, and with the iPhone 4S purchased like this for AT&T, they were "unlocked" when you plugged them into iTunes.
 
amazing how confused people can get. The iPhone 4s is the EXACT same hardware for every single carrier worldwide, THE IMEI is what locks it to each carrier. WHEN YOU BUY a full retail priced iphone from the APPLE STORE, it is already factory unlocked, they more often than not WILL NOT tell you that, but t is. As such will be the case for the new iphone as well. I can pretty much guarantee it.
 
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