T-Mobile Raises iPhone Price by $50, Down Payment on iPhone 5 Starts at $150

[MacRumors]

When 4th-place U.S. cell carrier T-Mobile launched the iPhone last month, customers could purchase it for a $100 down payment with 24 monthly payments of $20 to cover the full cost of the phone.

Now, however, T-Mobile has ended that promotion and the 16GB iPhone 5 has a $150 down payment with the same monthly payments, effectively raising the cost of the phone to $630 from $580 over the life of the plan, TmoNews reports.

The 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 models have seen a similar $50 price increase. Buying a 16GB iPhone 5 through T-Mobile is still slightly cheaper than buying an unlocked iPhone from Apple. That phone is $650, though there is no monthly payment option.

Ah T-Mobile, I knew your introductory pricing of $99 down payment wasn't going to last. As of today, T-Mobile will ask well-qualified customers to drop $149 as their down payment instead of $99 as has been the case since the April 12th launch. I don't recall anyone or anywhere telling me the $99 price was only good for one month, but in hindsight I should have seen the writing on the wall.

T-Mobile will continue to take trade-ins of current iPhone models to reduce the down payment required. The company reported last week that it had sold more than 500,000 iPhones in less than a month after launch.

Article Link: T-Mobile Raises iPhone Price by $50, Down Payment on iPhone 5 Starts at $150

 

[treyjustice]

Seriously? I was wanting to switch to tmobile from AT&T when the 5S came off.... $50 isn' a huge amount but makes me not want to as much

 

[JayCee842]

Lol seriously? I was about to get the iPhone with them later this week for my sister. Oh well I'll just pay the extra $50

 

[jrswizzle]

Still a good deal if you can handle T-Mo's network IMO.....

And given they sold a boatload of iP5's this past month, I'd reckon it makes sense for them to up the price and see if they can't make a little extra money.

 

[sundog925]

And when us users paid full price for unlimited on Verizon to keep a perk, we got flamed, yet now that TMO is doing the same thing, its revolutionary.

YEAH RIGHT.

 

[osofast240sx]

Still a good deal if you can handle T-Mo's network IMO.....

And given they sold a boatload of iP5's this past month, I'd reckon it makes sense for them to up the price and see if they can't make a little extra money.

Tmobile's network is just as good as any other.

I'm sure this is a deal they had with apple, its beyond their control.

 

[macFanDave]

While the so-called Wall Street analysts bloviate about made-up data and unsubstantiated rumors to smear Apple, here we see an actual move in the real marketplace that indicates that the iPhone 5 is still strong among real-world customers who put hard-earned dollars to purchase them.

 

[vmachiel]

Makes sense, they could afford to offer it at that price. Still cheaper than an unlocked one

 

[mattwallace24]

and so it begins.

 

[M-O]

i didn't realize it was a promotion... i was curious how they could sell it for less than Apple. i guess it all makes sense now.

 

[ghostface147]

Not a big deal.

 

[Rot'nApple]

and so it begins.

RATS! You beat me to that thought!...
/
/
/

 

[Wicked1]

and so it begins.

That was my thought originally, but then thinking about it, makes sense for T-Mobile since they are the first one to carry the iPhone and not bow down to Apple and give us the phones with a Sub and suck the balance of the price up in their 2 year contract.

They are offering somewhat discounted plans with Unlimited 4G for less money and making people pay full price for the phone. If this works, they will be given the thumbs up, if not, you will hear everyone say I knew that would not work or that would not last....

I have AT&T, wish they would lower the monthly after 24 months, or make me buy a non sub phone for a lower monthly plan, they are make tons of $ off of the current plans etc and then cry they have to pay Apple tons of money when they only get $200 for the phones? Really, they make tons of $ off the monthly fees, I am paying $30 for data and $30 for unlimited texts, and they both run across the same data paths? I am getting double dipped

They also have crappy service in Central NJ where I live, so I would rather pay a little more and stay with AT&T plus I have a FAN discount that I would lose going to T-Mob

 

[CEmajr]

And when us users paid full price for unlimited on Verizon to keep a perk, we got flamed, yet now that TMO is doing the same thing, its revolutionary.

YEAH RIGHT.

The difference is that your bill on Verizon is the same as someone who got a subsidized iPhone from them. While on Tmobile the bill is cheaper if you chose to pay full price upfront for it.

Totally different.

 

[jrswizzle]

Tmobile's network is just as good as any other.

I'm sure this is a deal they had with apple, its beyond their control.

Ya - I had T-Mo way back when and it sucked.....likely better now.

Though I haven't heard good things about their LTE, their HSPA+ is supposed to be awesome.

I might have to look into it when my contract on AT&T comes up. The idea of being able to upgrade whenever (provided I sell back the old model to help finance the new one) is extremely enticing.

 

[Mlrollin91]

Still cheaper than buying the phone out-right from Apple. $630 vs $649.

 

[jrswizzle]

Question - Say I had a plan through t-mobile and had bought a phone when I signed up. Paying $20/month for the phone.

Could I then buy a new phone at the subsidized price (keeping the first phone) and just tack on another $20/month. At any time?

Essentially, I'd have two phones and would be paying $40/month on the same line? Or is there some kind of limit as to how many phone payments I can have on my account/timeframe I have to wait before buying another phone?

 

[Elbon]

Still a good deal if you can handle T-Mo's network IMO.....

Their network is fine (at least, where I live)...I use a T-Mobile WiFi hotspot on a daily basis and haven't run into any issues.

----------

And when us users paid full price for unlimited on Verizon to keep a perk, we got flamed, yet now that TMO is doing the same thing, its revolutionary.

I'm not sure what this has to do with data plans. What's "revolutionary" is that, unlike Verizon and AT&T, T-Mobile will stop charging you the extra $20 a month after you have paid off the price of the hardware.

 

[Christian 5G]

Gunna wait few more months

 

[Plutonius]

Tmobile's network is just as good as any other.

I use (and like) T-Mobile and can tell you right now that the cell coverage isn't nearly as good as the other providers. My phone was totally useless when I traveled to a graduation last weekend (might as well been a brick) because there was no T-Mobile coverage in the area. Luckily, I was with people who had a different provider and coverage. I have good coverage at home but, this happens all the time when I travel.

 

[tardman91]

The $50 price increase sure sucks, but I'll still come out ahead by just waiting until my Verizon contract ends in July. Maybe by that time we'll have some 5S news to go off of and I might just wait it out.

 

[Plutonius]

That's an awfully bold statement. It depends on where you live. In my area T-Mobile has awesome coverage and 3G/4G data speeds that simply destroy Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T to a slightly lesser extent. No LTE coverage yet though.

All mobile carriers have their good and bad areas. In my experience though, T-Mobile's cell coverage is worse then the other major carriers.

 

[cmwade77]

Still a good deal if you can handle T-Mo's network IMO.....

And given they sold a boatload of iP5's this past month, I'd reckon it makes sense for them to up the price and see if they can't make a little extra money.

T-Mobile has by far the best coverage wherever I tend to go, I have AT&T (through work) and my wife has T-Mobile, her phone works everywhere mine doesn't.

As for the price, this puts it back as the same cost as an unlocked phone, which makes sense.

 

[solamar]

And when us users paid full price for unlimited on Verizon to keep a perk, we got flamed, yet now that TMO is doing the same thing, its revolutionary.

YEAH RIGHT.

This has nothing to do with plans.. it's the cost of the phone? Where did you get anything about unlimited data? That has not changed..

The difference is you're paying an @ss load on a monthly basis to keep your unlimited AND paying full price for your phone.. You get no monthly discount for paying full price

The irony: Your now soft CAPPED at 5gb and it's no longer truly unlimited, unlike T-Mobile.. AND we pay less monthly WITH paying for the phone over time.. So yea, we laugh..

 

[truettray]

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CORPORATE GREED!

Just kidding... it's a company making a profit.