Apple's Upgrade Program Now Available for iPhones Purchased Through Online Store

[Juicy Box]

Good point, but he isn´t completely wrong. If you cannot pay 650,00 $ or 1.000,00 $ up front, you´re a kind of a loser or you want something you cannot afford.
I don´t get it anyway - why people don´t save a share of they income a few month and go shopping when they got the money? Then you´ll never have the risk, that you cannot pay your rate if you lose your job or something like that.

I don't agree. Would you say people shouldn't finance a computer? Car? House? College? Business? Many people cannot pay in full up front on these things, does that mean they shouldn't get them?

Yes, a phone is a lot cheaper, but even if you can afford the money up front, that doesn't make it smarter to do vs free financing.

Especially, when taken in account the TVM, paying in full up front is more expensive than 0% over 24 months.

 

[Gawjuz]

What I find funny about these kinds of comments is that in reality....it depends.

If you have just bought an iphone and are waiting for the iphone 7, then saving may be better.

If however you are just getting a phone and plan to upgrade then this isn't a bad deal since it means you get the phone now while being able to pay it off slowly (assuming you can pay it off on time).

Speaking about phone contracts in general, on my last two contracts, I managed to get a discount/special offers so for me a contract made sense and it would have arguably been worse to just buy the device outright/separate contract (even though I had the money to do so).

Thanks for the reply. My experience is that you will nearly always be worse off buying a contract from a carrier as opposed to buying the phone outright and seeking out a sim-only plan.
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That answer depends on many things, and everyones' situation might be different.

Considering it is free financing, I think most people would consider it better than paying in full.

But, if you did not want the Apple Care+ for whatever reason, then paying in full, or some other type of financing could be a better choice.

These are just a few scenarios, everyones' situation is different, so saying one way of purchasing is best for everyone just isn't realistic.

What most people would probably agree is that having more options on how to obtain a phone is a positive thing.

Thanks for the reply. I see the benefits now. Maybe I'm just a little too obsessed with reducing monthly outgoings right now

 

[WordsmithMR]

The phone when purchased through the Upgrade Program is a totally unlocked iPhone which means you are buying without a carrier contract. So if I get sick of AT&T I can switch to Verizon/T-Mobs/Sprint.

Thanks for clearing that up. The way it appears as you go through the options is that it will need a plan. But I noticed the section that clarifies it, as you did.

If you cannot afford to pay $649 + taxes up front for a smartphone. Sorry if you need to finance a smartphone then you really need to go back to school and learn how to count. This is how Americans get in debt. You buy something you cannot afford. OR just buy something within your budget.

If $649 is in someone's budget over the course of 12 months interest free, what does it matter to you if they get the phone financed versus one payment. While one may have had the $1000 cash in easily in savings, or a credit card with an 18% APR with more than enough available balance, why would it be a bad thing to go with the interest free program that breaks it down to $30-40/monthly payments interest free?

 

[jlwarlow]

I am really hoping this becomes available in the UK by the time the iPhone 7 is released.

Me too, I can then get a better 1mo/12mo SIM only deal compared to what's offered on contract and switch faster if they put the prices up or a better SIM deal comes out.

 

[617aircav]

I don't agree. Would you say people shouldn't finance a computer? Car? House? College? Business? Many people cannot pay in full up front on these things, does that mean they shouldn't get them?

Yes, a phone is a lot cheaper, but even if you can afford the money up front, that doesn't make it smarter to do vs free financing.

Especially, when taken in account the TVM, paying in full up front is more expensive than 0% over 24 months.

Financing something every year is not really wise.

 

[617aircav]

Me too, I can then get a better 1mo/12mo SIM only deal compared to what's offered on contract and switch faster if they put the prices up or a better SIM deal comes out.

Yep. My plan cost me $10.

 

[chrono1081]

I still don't get why people go gaga over these ripoff plans.

"But but but. no contract!!!"

I can't imagine someone switches carriers enough to see this as a huge benefit. For the very few who do they could always buy an unlocked phone.

Your plan isn't any cheaper and now you pay full price for a phone vs getting it subsidized in the cost of your plan. There is absolutely zero benefit to the consumer with these new plans.

 

[actinide]

I do agree with Alimac: If you cant afford it in the first place, don't buy it.
You have many other alternatives. For those who can afford it (decent savings account), i don't see why you wouldn't consider the update program plan.
Apparently, on this forum, all members are fortunate. PS: not all people are. Try to watch it from another perspective.

Nobody would have imagined that apple will come with a flagship. But against all odds, they did it anyway (iphone SE). However, the iphone SE is not as much of a success as they hoped it to be.
I believe with this upgrade program, they hope to attract more customers. Many of whom will be customers that are not able to afford an iphone in the first place.
To them it doesn't matter, as long as they are cashing in and pleasing the stakeholders. What matters are profits.
(From a source, apple will announce a "disappointed" quarter regarding the iphone sales: stay tuned!)


In the US many have a household that consist of purchases made via loans: cars, fridge, sofa, tv, cellphone, etc. all purchased via loans.

Debt is not always good as many would believe.
Many have forgotten the crisis that has been bestowed upon us in 2008.

 

[tech3475]

Thanks for the reply. My experience is that you will nearly always be worse off buying a contract from a carrier as opposed to buying the phone outright and seeking out a sim-only plan.

Some people may choose the overall more expensive contract option as opposed to e.g. saving up because they want/need the phone sooner or because they find a smaller monthly amount more palatable.

I'd say particularly with the latter it's more a case of YMMV/psychological (smaller number per month vs single really large number + small number per month).

I know with my parents if they weren't paying monthly they wouldn't have got their phones, even when I offered to buy them as a gift because they just see a large number.

That said, I do believe there are people who don't shop around as much as they should. When I got my S3 years ago, the carrier wanted £100 up front which would have been carrier branded and locked.....a bit of searching found the same phone plan, unlocked without the fee from a different retailer.

 

[apolloa]

What an utter rip off! I presume this monthly fee is on top of your mobile carrier monthly contract fee? It's the sort of thing they try to flog you in Curry's when you buy something, and that's a scam too.

 

[DolsJ]

Good point, but he isn´t completely wrong. If you cannot pay 650,00 $ or 1.000,00 $ up front, you´re a kind of a loser or you want something you cannot afford.
I don´t get it anyway - why people don´t save a share of they income a few month and go shopping when they got the money? Then you´ll never have the risk, that you cannot pay your rate if you lose your job or something like that.

Or you would rather spread out the payments over time and keep more of your own money in an account where it is earning interest or dividends for yourself. There are reasons that paying over time can be beneficial.

What if you payed the money up front and then lost your job but now have insufficient savings to fall back on because you spent it up front? My point is that the method of payment is not what creates the risk. You either plan ahead or you don't. All this conjecture about people who opt to pay in installments not having money, or not being able to afford what they are paying for is baseless. If it works better for you to save a little and pay up front then good, but nobody is a loser simply for choosing another method.

 

[Benjamin Frost]

This program is more about selling AppleCare at an extortionate price (20% of the value of the phone! when supposedly warranty failure rates are around 2%) and the main reason it is not available in Europe since there is a minimum 24 months warranty requirement by EU law. That is the real "interest payment" attached to the scheme.

Quite.

In addition, AppleCare will not be needed by most people. Therefore, this is effectively a tax on all who use Apple's Upgrade programme. This is a way for Apple to increase their profit margins in an underhand way. Apple know that most people will never claim on AppleCare.

My advice would be to avoid the Apple Upgrade programme, as it will be a bad deal for almost everyone.

 

[rdlink]

American economics at its finest. You are a complete (the term "loser" was suggested as being too rude but I can't help the fact if you can't afford something to begin with and yet you still want something you cannot afford AND you refuse to buy something in your own budget range, then you are pretty much a "loser" in my book).

If you cannot afford to pay $649 + taxes up front for a smartphone. Sorry if you need to finance a smartphone then you really need to go back to school and learn how to count. This is how Americans get in debt. You buy something you cannot afford. OR just buy something within your budget.

Either pay for it in full or SAVE UP until you can afford it. These programs have ludicrous interest rates and their entire objective is to trap you paying interests because you miss payments/stop paying. There is no "free" service to the general public on helping you buy anything.

Everyone else who corrected you was a lot nicer than I'm going to be: Your post is stupid, because it was not only myopically judgmental, but you were apparently too lazy to do a little math before you started with your ill informed and completely incorrect rant.

For some of us it has nothing to do with whether we can afford to put down $649 on a phone. I can, but I still use the Upgrade program, because first it allow me to use OPM (Other Peoples' Money) which is actually financially very smart. And also because I end up getting a phone every year, and it removes the hassle of having to sell my old one. Also, I have always bought AppleCare for my phones, so this program doesn't add to my cost.

The Apple Upgrade Program is essentially an interest free leasing program for your phone. That's it. Nothing more.

 

[apolloa]

Quite.

In addition, AppleCare will not be needed by most people. Therefore, this is effectively a tax on all who use Apple's Upgrade programme. This is a way for Apple to increase their profit margins in an underhand way. Apple know that most people will never claim on AppleCare.

My advice would be to avoid the Apple Upgrade programme, as it will be a bad deal for almost everyone.

Yeap, plus most house insurance policies will cover accidental mobile phone damage, even if the phone was outside the home in some cases, and you have good consumer laws that mean Apple is obliged to repair faults for a few years for free as the device has to be 'fit for purpose'.

As I said, this is just like those warranties Curry's try to sell you which were proved time and time again to be rip off's and not required.

 

[tech3475]

Yeap, plus most house insurance policies will cover accidental mobile phone damage, even if the phone was outside the home in some cases, and you have good consumer laws that mean Apple is obliged to repair faults for a few years for free as the device has to be 'fit for purpose'.

As I said, this is just like those warranties Curry's try to sell you which were proved time and time again to be rip off's and not required.

The problem with relying on household insurance is that it may increase your insurance cost in the future plus you have to pay a premium.

I know someone who's bill increased just by inquiring over something.

Also, Apple are a PITA when it comes to anything outside of warranty or plans.

 

[American Hero]

It's still not available SIM free, making it pointless. Having to purchase it with a contracted plan is silly... May as well get it directly from the cellular companies. How hard is it to implement a payment plan linked to one of your Apple Pay credit cards, or your iTunes account.

Apple isn't in the business of directly financing their products. They can't even have their own credit card... They go through Barclaycard.

Even if Apple had their own credit card through Visa or MasterCard, it would be the worst one in the market, probably carrying a hefty annual fee, extremely high interest rate, and no rewards.

 

[Tiger8]

GO READ THE TERMS AND AGREEMENTS.

Section 1, paragraph 4):

• Credit Card Interest and other fees. You will be charged 0% APR on the Installment Loan. However, the issuer of your credit card may charge you interest or other fees under the terms and conditions in your cardmember agreement. This may include any applicable interest on unpaid balances or late payments. Your card issuer may not provide certain benefits in connection with loan payments charged to your card.

Not only that you are basically wasting your money trading in a phone each year. Just buy the phone in full, sell it for more money instead of having to refinance ANOTHER device the next year. Ridiculous financing for a cellphone. You are not buying a car here. It's a cellphone. Skip the stupid program and do the math. there is no free lunch.

But if you pay your credit card balance on time, it's 0% too. You get also to hold on to your money longer, put it in an investment fund and maybe even make some money.

 

[vsx-ax3]

I don't agree. Would you say people shouldn't finance a computer? Car? House? College? Business? Many people cannot pay in full up front on these things, does that mean they shouldn't get them?

Yes, a phone is a lot cheaper, but even if you can afford the money up front, that doesn't make it smarter to do vs free financing.

Especially, when taken in account the TVM, paying in full up front is more expensive than 0% over 24 months.

I think financing a house, good education or business is something of value - these things mostly pay off. Over the time you even benefit from these these things big time.
But an iPhone? You don´t even need an iPhone - you want to own one, maybe, but you don´t need one.
The day you get it you have already lost 20-25 percent, but you have still to pay the full price - for 24 month. If you pay up front or pay step by step, you are losing money anyway.

My point was sometimes it is wiser to be patient. In these days many people want to have everything, even if it ´s to expensive for them. And if that is the case, that you cannot afford something around these price tags, I´m sorry, but then you should have invest this money in education.

Maybe you should say more precisely you´re not a loser as a human being, but you are a loser of or in this society.

Shopping is much more fun, when you got the money, trust me.
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, and it removes the hassle of having to sell my old one.

... what hassle? Use your phone two, three or even four years and concentrate on other things than the latest tech-stuff from Apple...

 

[MacBergin]

You guys don't read the terms. It's not about whether or not you have great credit to qualify for the 0% APR in the first place, it's the fact that these programs are to get people who can't even pay their bills on time to suffer even more. The loan installment is thru your credit card.

Dude, face it you ate some crow because you couldn't do math. Its what you get for insulting Americans...like we are the only people to buy things with installment plans. Please think before you post next time.

 

[vsx-ax3]

If you are going to pick on high household debt for Americans, you are skipping over several other countries that are MUCH worse off:

The question is, are they in debts for houses or are they in debts for consumer goods ...

 

[Gawjuz]

Some people may choose the overall more expensive contract option as opposed to e.g. saving up because they want/need the phone sooner or because they find a smaller monthly amount more palatable.

I'd say particularly with the latter it's more a case of YMMV/psychological (smaller number per month vs single really large number + small number per month).

I know with my parents if they weren't paying monthly they wouldn't have got their phones, even when I offered to buy them as a gift because they just see a large number.

That said, I do believe there are people who don't shop around as much as they should. When I got my S3 years ago, the carrier wanted £100 up front which would have been carrier branded and locked.....a bit of searching found the same phone plan, unlocked without the fee from a different retailer.

So again it's up to the individual's circumstances and financial preferences.

 

[vsx-ax3]

Dude, face it you ate some crow because you couldn't do math. Its what you get for insulting Americans...like we are the only people to buy things with installment plans. Please think before you post next time.

... maybe not the only ones, but maybe leading the way?!

 

[JayInNJ]

The best deal is STILL the 2 year contract for $199. I'm using my iPhone 5 from 4 years ago and it costed me $199 flat. That's $199/42 months = $4.73 a month, and I plan to use it for another 2-3 years. Got the battery refreshed for free under the recall. You cannot beat that.

This is wrong on two points. First, as others have said, you are paying a higher amount per month for service when you take the contract pricing (this is the line charge). Probably $25 extra per month. Second, you pay this over 24 months, just like the installment plans. Then after that time is up, your monthly fee should have dropped from $40 to $15. Hopefully it did or you have been paying way too much for the phone. So using this math, you paid $199/24 + $25 = $33.29 per month ($799 total for the phone) (this is without the AppleCare+). So you actually paid more for the phone than the current deal.

This is a trick the phone companies ran for years to hide the true cost of the phone and get people locked in for long term to their service.

 

[apolloa]

The problem with relying on household insurance is that it may increase your insurance cost in the future plus you have to pay a premium.

I know someone who's bill increased just by inquiring over something.

Also, Apple are a PITA when it comes to anything outside of warranty or plans.

House insurance is cheap though anyway, reason being you don't claim for personal injuries anywhere near as much as on car insurance.
And they may be a PITA but the laws the law regardless of who you are. And we all know Apple 'thinks' it can do whatever it wants, but as shown in places like Italy it can't get away with that.

 

[JayInNJ]

What an utter rip off! I presume this monthly fee is on top of your mobile carrier monthly contract fee? It's the sort of thing they try to flog you in Curry's when you buy something, and that's a scam too.

You always have to pay the phone some way. What you pay for the phone is separate from the phone service. It used to always be bundled and hidden, but you were always paying for both. This just allows you to upgrade after 12 months, but still have installment payments. Basically it is guaranteeing your phone is worth 50% of its initial retail value when in good condition after 12 months. That is the real question, can you do much better on the open market selling a paid off iPhone? Minus all fees and headaches.