I'm in the same boat. I have a 13 pro max and still very happy with it. 92% battery health and otherwise perfect. I was considering the 15pm on apple card installments and only if it came with a "killer" app of which I believe is not coming. 15 will just be cameras, battery and titanium. None of which I need an improvement on right now.
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Apple Card Monthly Financing No Longer Available for SIM-Free iPhones
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Apple must receive a kickback for getting people to buy/switch to their networks. Screws a helluva lot of people out that are using MVNOs though. Seamless installments are main reason I even got an Apple Card in the first place.
Not uncommon for carriers to pay a SPIF of some sort to the vendor selling the phone on one of their postpaid plans. Otherwise you wouldn't be buying phones at BestBuy or Target or Costco/Sams third party kiosks etc.
As for "screws a helluva lot of people"... Seems a bit exaggerated. You can still buy the sim-free unlocked phone, you're just going to have to self-finance or find alternative financing.
(and IMHO, if you aren't in a position to self-finance, then perhaps reconsider whether there are better choices than going into debt on an expensive new phone - there are a number of substantially less expensive unlocked options on swappa.com for example)
The 0% has to be paid for somehow. It's possible that GS was helping to cover the 0% rate on SIM-free phones but chose to no longer do so which just left the carriers. Co-marketing promotions are not uncommon. Just as Apple Card's current 0% offer is meant to encourage AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon purchases, the card's 3% (or more) cash back offers are meant to encourage purchases from participating merchants like Panera Bread, Nike, Walgreens, etc.
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If I am correct, an at&t user will get a locked and GSM phone only, which means even if the phone is "unlocked" later we will not be able to use the phone with Verizon network.
There is no need to keep an Apple Card, just purchase an unlocked iPhone from Best Buy. For computers or other things, 3rd parties always have better offer.
Irrelevant today since the old GSM and CDMA networks in the US have been shut down, and current phones are capable of working on any carrier's LTE & 5G networks AFAIK.
Phones sold into different countries / global regions may have some differences in LTE & 5G bands, but should generally have some functionality in other countries. See here for specifics: https://www.apple.com/iphone/cellular/
Thank you. I just found out from iPhone 11, Apple stopped releasing two different models for At&t/T-mobile and Verizon.
Apple is trash officially. I used to be a big fan, my G4 iMac ruled the world. It ran flawlessly for 11 years. The last iMac I bought, the generation before this one, can't even open the preferences window within 40 seconds. I brought it back thinking it was a lemon got a new one and it did the same thing. Just junk. Siri won't respond to me anymore on my iPhone 13. Apple said they fix it for $500. And to think I was actually considering getting the new one. The financing was tempting but I was leaning towards just paying cash. Now I wouldn't buy one. It's time for a change anyways, I guess. I miss the reliability and luster of the brand. I enjoyed the down with the people vibe they once had. Now they don't like Mint mobile customers, because we use cash. They don't trust customers that pay upfront? Absolute idiots. And as long as I'm here writing all this crap I have to say I found many other problems with the products over the years since Steve Jobs died. How come this isn't a thing people talk about? Everything used to be solid and customizable. I used to love learning more and more and doing all kinds of things others with other brands couldn't. Now it's like trying to work with the government. Or AT&T
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Oh Apple what won’t you do for a few pennies more. How much longer until they drop the included cable? I guess they are running out of ways to squeeze more out of us.
I was disappointed when I first heard about this, but what can you do but look for other options.
I found a few..
The first option is affirm. Depending on your credit worthiness, you could get 0% financing for 12 months. I have not been able to confirm that this will still work on the iPhone if you buy it directly from Apple but from what I’ve read people are getting 0% financing for 12 months on other products like MacBooks when they use affirm.
Second option is still affirm but on your MVNO so if you’re like me on Mint Mobile, then you may want to go check Mint Mobile to see when they will add the newer iPhones. The only problem is then your limited to which devices they stock. Personally, this would likely not be an option for me, because I was planning on getting the maxed out iPhone of the highest tier in whichever color is closest to black.
Something to note on this option, though, is that Mint Mobile frequently does deals where if you buy a phone directly from them they’ll give you a year of service for 50% off.
Third option and I know this one sucks but a new credit card so personally I actually recently got the Wells Fargo active cash card which has a 15 month 0% interest bonus + $200 cash back on sign up perk - for some reason I remember my sign up perk being 21 month 0% intro but it’s 15 months on the site so maybe I got a deal. Anywho I know this option is not ideal but it works…
The final option is to look at your existing credit cards and see which cards have a pay later plan option. For me personally, I used the Chase pay option and I actually saved a lot of money because I paid off my plan early which allowed me to get away from the fees but it’s still allowed me to split my purchase over the course of three months rather than spending all of it at once.
I’m sure most of you already know about all this stuff but I just thought to help out anyone in a similar situation. I know it’s frustrating but what can we do. Apple removed the perk and it’s likely not coming back, so whatever.
I found a few..
The first option is affirm. Depending on your credit worthiness, you could get 0% financing for 12 months. I have not been able to confirm that this will still work on the iPhone if you buy it directly from Apple but from what I’ve read people are getting 0% financing for 12 months on other products like MacBooks when they use affirm.
Second option is still affirm but on your MVNO so if you’re like me on Mint Mobile, then you may want to go check Mint Mobile to see when they will add the newer iPhones. The only problem is then your limited to which devices they stock. Personally, this would likely not be an option for me, because I was planning on getting the maxed out iPhone of the highest tier in whichever color is closest to black.
Something to note on this option, though, is that Mint Mobile frequently does deals where if you buy a phone directly from them they’ll give you a year of service for 50% off.
Third option and I know this one sucks but a new credit card so personally I actually recently got the Wells Fargo active cash card which has a 15 month 0% interest bonus + $200 cash back on sign up perk - for some reason I remember my sign up perk being 21 month 0% intro but it’s 15 months on the site so maybe I got a deal. Anywho I know this option is not ideal but it works…
The final option is to look at your existing credit cards and see which cards have a pay later plan option. For me personally, I used the Chase pay option and I actually saved a lot of money because I paid off my plan early which allowed me to get away from the fees but it’s still allowed me to split my purchase over the course of three months rather than spending all of it at once.
I’m sure most of you already know about all this stuff but I just thought to help out anyone in a similar situation. I know it’s frustrating but what can we do. Apple removed the perk and it’s likely not coming back, so whatever.
Same the one reason I have the Apple Card is to finance Apple products with 0%.
Fortunately we can still do so on other products.
Unpopular opinion- Personally I’d be with okay with this perk returning along with better perks and higher cash back rewards percentage on purchases behind a new card with an annual fee.
This happened to a relative. He got the phone a few days ago. It came with the e-sim to the carrier, and took his old MVNO sim card out of his old phone and put it in the new phone and it works fine, so far..Bought the phone with the Apple card.
What happens to the persons account that you attach the phone to? I want to ensure it doesn’t have a negative impact on them because I’ll definitely be doing this if it works.
The phone was purchased for grandson and I had it shipped to him directly from Apple. He has registered the phone in his name on the account and the sim card he used (Mint) was out of his old iphone (in his name) that was broken. I see what you mean..I bought the phone for him and I'm alright, so far. It still says the apple card is on monthly payments. The eSim was never activated when he started the phone up.He wanted to see if his old sim card could work on the phone first without activating the eSim, so he put it in and it worked fine. The new phone was to be activated through T-Mobile. The iphone itself is unlocked and T-Mobile's phones are unlocked as well. I was told by T-Mobile that even if he were to activate the eSim to T-Mobile, all he had to do was cancel it as the phone isn't locked to them, as it is being paid for through the Apple card and not financed through T-Mobile. AT&T is the only one who will lock your phone for a certain amount of time if you activate through them. Now, Apple told me when I called them that it HAD to be activated to a regular $$$ account with one of the big 3. T-Mobile told me, no, it doesn't; at least through them, as they told me that he could also use one of their cheaper or PRE PAY plans if he wanted to stay with them. Now, grandson told me that his old sim card was with Mint and he thought they were an MVNO of T-Mobile, which might be why it worked immediately.
Sorry to make this so lengthy, just wanted to make sure it was understood as I understood it to be. I told him to let me know immediately if the phone stops working and I will keep an eye on this end, But from what I have read and was told..the phone comes to you UNLOCKED and so it isn't actually activated to anyone unless you actually activate the eSim when you first get it. If you use T-Mobile, their phones aren't locked and you can cancel your account with them any time you want. So I guess if you already are using a sim card from your provider, to use it first. Good luck!! (to all of us)
This below is off of Apple's website under their FAQ.The phone is unlocked and STAYS unlocked (except AT&T) which means you can cancel and go with whoever
Will my new iPhone be unlocked?
Yes. An iPhone purchased from apple.com(Opens in a new window) is unlocked. Once your new iPhone is activated, it remains unlocked, which means you can use it with any network that provides service for iPhone. The exception is when you buy an iPhone with an AT&T Installment Plan. It will be locked to AT&T and will only work on the AT&T network for the term of your Installment Plan agreement.
No, I didn't have to confirm anything. Just picked which one I wanted to activate with and that was it. Phone stays unlocked..just remember this...
This is true, but if you buy a phone linked to AT&T, it is locked till you pay it off.
The system that Apple uses to carrier lock iPhones is a PITA. I had an iPhone with Spectrum that was carrier locked. Long after I paid it off and was on Straight Talk I had to get a replacement through AppleCare. The new AppleCare replacement refused to take my Straight Talk SIM because it reverted to being carrier locked. Apple won’t do anything about it, even though they are the ones that actually lock and unlock the phone. You have to convince whatever carrier it was to contact Apple and have them unlock it. I had to call Spectrum and after several hours on the phone managed to convince them to unlock the replacement for a phone that I paid off a long time ago. After that experience, I will never buy another carrier locked phone if I have a choice.
I just now checked, and you can get the same exact new unlocked iPhone (13 model and older)
from Best Buy with 0% financing for 24 months (With a Best Buy Card) and NOT having to activate the phone with anyone. It's the same price as Apple, only they want you to activate with one of the big 3.
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I hear shipping from Best Buy is not so great when it comes to getting your phone when they say you will. Still, this might be a good alternative and what’s a few extra days wait. I might be applying for a Best Buy credit card 🤣
Shipping was free on the iPhone I just checked. I bought a Pixel 6 Pro from them at one time and the shipping took about the same amount of time as anyone else. It was free too. They also take trades.
What about starting new service from T-Mobile or VZ and paying for the device using ACMI? Wait a day or two, then cancel service. Now, move your number to the new device. From the perspective of the carrier, it looks like you BYOD, and its just a device change. I believe that'll work. Anyone confirm they took this route before?
Unless you buy the phone from Apple on Apple's financing, according to reports here.
Since the broken phone was unlocked, you should've received an unlocked replacement is my understanding.
I thought I read all were unlocked except AT&T but maybe I misread. I’ve never had them as a carrier.
That’s what I thought. Maybe Apple messed up on this one but they blamed Spectrum and wouldn’t do anything. They said Spectrum would have to request the unlock from them.
Whatever was supposed to happen - and the proper thing would be an unlocked phone be replaced with an unlocked phone - it sounds like you had a Royal phukaround getting it sorted out.
As people are increasingly mobile between carriers hopefully the sorts of SNAFUs you experienced wiill be rare
Thinking back on what happened I did get an unlocked phone replaced with a unlocked phone. For some reason I decided to reset the phone (I don’t remember why now) and I guess that pinged Apple’s servers to see if the phone needed to be locked and they locked it.
You’re right about it being a royal… but in the end, it was sorted out. It just made me more cautious about this whole mess.
I do the same thing as well, to buy my iPhones every year. September 1st starts the first transfer I make into my savings account for the 16 Pro Max next year.