Carrier Are the carrier phone discounts gone ?

[keeganskylar]

I have the Iphone 6 Plus and I have AT&T grandfathered into the Unlimited plan and just the one phone/line. With the new Iphone 7 coming out will AT&T give a phone discount for the new phone or will I have to purchase it outright? I think they have a phone next plan or something I assume I would have to join that to get a discount on the phone but would I loose my unlimited data plan if I do that?
Any information would be helpful just wondering if I should expect to pay a lot for the new phone or if AT&T might still be doing a phone discount if I sign on another 2 years for the new phone. (Assume those days are gone?)

 

[noobinator]

They are just no longer called contracts. They are now installment plans where you pay off the phone over 2 years. It's all semantics.

 

[keeganskylar]

They are just no longer called contracts. They are now installment plans where you pay off the phone over 2 years. It's all semantics.

Do you then own the phone or does the carrier own the phone ?

 

[noobinator]

Do you then own the phone or does the carrier own the phone ?

You own it after the phone is paid off. It looks like ATTs are 30 month agreements so 30 months of payments. They extend it to make your monthly payment lower.

 

[caligurl]

You choose your terms. I chose NEXT 12, which is 20 payments... but I'm eligible for a new phone after making 12 payments and turn in the phone.

 

[Stlcheer]

You can still keep your unlimited data with NEXT but you won't receive the line discount.

 

[geoff5093]

For the older plans, there is no more discount. The newer plans give you a discount though when paying for them on the installment plans.

 

[comptr]

I have the Iphone 6 Plus and I have AT&T grandfathered into the Unlimited plan and just the one phone/line. With the new Iphone 7 coming out will AT&T give a phone discount for the new phone or will I have to purchase it outright? I think they have a phone next plan or something I assume I would have to join that to get a discount on the phone but would I loose my unlimited data plan if I do that?
Any information would be helpful just wondering if I should expect to pay a lot for the new phone or if AT&T might still be doing a phone discount if I sign on another 2 years for the new phone. (Assume those days are gone?)

Also carriers like Verizon and Sprint still offer 2 year contacts for current customers.

 

[AustinIllini]

Meh, the whole subsidy system is a complete scam.

 

[JulesJam]

Meh, the whole subsidy system is a complete scam.

Not if you have UDP.

 

[AustinIllini]

Not if you have UDP.

That's taking advantage of a loophole and not part of this discussion. If you were to get a contract today, you wouldn't have access to unlimited data.

 

[JulesJam]

That's taking advantage of a loophole and not part of this discussion. If you were to get a contract today, you wouldn't have access to unlimited data.

Not true for Verizon.

 

[C DM]

Meh, the whole subsidy system is a complete scam.

It depends. If you always got a new phone for free or cheap seems like you were making out just fine. That's with contracts. And without at least now there are discounts for not getting a subsidy.

 

[lordofthereef]

While next plans absolutely are the new contracts, the fact of the matter is you will be paying more for your phone alongside the unlimited plan then you ever did. Not only did they raise the plan by $5 a month, they've also taken away a $450 subsidy. Effectively you're paying $570 more for your iPhone now than you had done two years ago.

 

[boltjames]

They are just no longer called contracts. They are now installment plans where you pay off the phone over 2 years. It's all semantics.

It is NOT semantics.

I have the AT&T Unlimited Data Plan. I used to be able to get an $800 iPhone for $399 with a 2-year contract. Now the same iPhone will cost me $800 and my data/phone plan has increased too.

The only people who say it is "semantics" don't look at their bills closely enough or believe what they're told by the sleazy carrier salesman in the mall. The only benefit to the elimination of subsidies is that you can get an iPhone for no money down as the carriers rape you slowly to the tune of several hundred dollars over the course of the same 2 year period.

BJ
[doublepost=1472878730][/doublepost]

While next plans absolutely are the new contracts, the fact of the matter is you will be paying more for your phone alongside the unlimited plan then you ever did. Not only did they raise the plan by $5 a month, they've also taken away a $450 subsidy. Effectively you're paying $570 more for your iPhone now than you had done two years ago.

Yes, and don't forget that the largest capacity iPhone has always been $399 with a 2-year contract and at the end of that contract you had something of real value, you could sell your AT&T iPhone unlocked on Craigslist locally and recoup every nickel of that $399. But now that anyone can waltz in to a carrier and walk out with a brand new iPhone for no-money-down, we're going to get killed at the end of the term.

You're paying $570 more for the iPhone, $120 more for the same dataplan, and will lose $299 on resale, all-in it's about $1,000 difference for the same phone. Apple and the carriers are getting greedy, going to turn off a lot of potential owners who have been loyal to Apple for years and the lack of newness in the 7 isn't going to help matters.

BJ

 

[C DM]

It is NOT semantics.

I have the AT&T Unlimited Data Plan. I used to be able to get an $800 iPhone for $399 with a 2-year contract. Now the same iPhone will cost me $800 and my data/phone plan has increased too.

The only people who say it is "semantics" don't look at their bills closely enough or believe what they're told by the sleazy carrier salesman in the mall. The only benefit to the elimination of subsidies is that you can get an iPhone for no money down as the carriers rape you slowly to the tune of several hundred dollars over the course of the same 2 year period.

BJ
[doublepost=1472878730][/doublepost]

Yes, and don't forget that the largest capacity iPhone has always been $399 with a 2-year contract and at the end of that contract you had something of real value, you could sell your AT&T iPhone unlocked on Craigslist locally and recoup every nickel of that $399. But now that anyone can waltz in to a carrier and walk out with a brand new iPhone for no-money-down, we're going to get killed at the end of the term.

You're paying $570 more for the iPhone, $120 more for the same dataplan, and will lose $299 on resale, all-in it's about $1,000 difference for the same phone. Apple and the carriers are getting greedy, going to turn off a lot of potential owners who have been loyal to Apple for years and the lack of newness in the 7 isn't going to help matters.

BJ

It doesn't quite work out with older plans, but recent and current plans provide discounts for financed or owned equipment. So it's in large part a matter of the plan you are on.

 

[Centst]

Have ATT Unlimited Grandfathered Plan with iPhone 6. Upgrading to iPhone 7 and I assume ATT is canceling the Unlimited I have or can I keep it with the Next Plan?

I've looked at the ATT site, but I do not see anywhere that allows me to keep the Unlimited data.

If I can keep the Unlimited what is the price? And even more important is - I want to have Hotspot capability with my laptop.

Also the ATT site keeps saying 30 month contracts, but Apple's site shows ATT Next 24 month.

If I can't keep the Unlimited with Next, can I get predefined data for 24 months?

Also I might want to upgrade next year. So I'm not really sure how they charge for the iPhone especially with upgrades. Right now I pay $80.

Any tips? This is really a chore trying to figure this out compared to just buying and renewing.

 

[AustinIllini]

Okay, people with unlimited data plans need to step off. That is NOT a real plan. You have ridden your plan for 7 years. The 2014 plans were a scam.

 

[boltjames]

Okay, people with unlimited data plans need to step off. That is NOT a real plan. You have ridden your plan for 7 years. The 2014 plans were a scam.

It's not unique to the AT&T Unlimited Data Plan. Apple and the carriers had a strategy early-on to gain market share by deeply discounting the iPhone, and Apple and the carriers have a strategy now to maximize profitability by increasing the price on the iPhone.

Anyone who had an iPhone pre-2014 is now being forced into a non-subsidized full-price model and it will cost us 100s if not 1000s of dollars.

Apple gets paid full price for their phones, always. Carriers used to deeply discount the phones to gain more loyal subscribers, now that they've got us locked up they are colluding to stop the discounts and make us pay what they are paying Apple. So you understand how this works before speaking, read:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304020104577384562576617618

BJ

 

[RedOrchestra]

It's not unique to the AT&T Unlimited Data Plan.

That's a 4-year-old article that you cited BUT clearly shows the way that Canadian Telcos have gone this past year. The only thing that makes it slightly palpable for me is that my provider gives me a $250-$300 hardware rebate on my first billing of the new contract period. So while I have to pay $600 up front for the phone (the remainder through monthly instalments) ... my true upfront cost, after the rebate, is $300.

 

[lordofthereef]

It is NOT semantics.

I have the AT&T Unlimited Data Plan. I used to be able to get an $800 iPhone for $399 with a 2-year contract. Now the same iPhone will cost me $800 and my data/phone plan has increased too.

The only people who say it is "semantics" don't look at their bills closely enough or believe what they're told by the sleazy carrier salesman in the mall. The only benefit to the elimination of subsidies is that you can get an iPhone for no money down as the carriers rape you slowly to the tune of several hundred dollars over the course of the same 2 year period.

BJ
[doublepost=1472878730][/doublepost]

Yes, and don't forget that the largest capacity iPhone has always been $399 with a 2-year contract and at the end of that contract you had something of real value, you could sell your AT&T iPhone unlocked on Craigslist locally and recoup every nickel of that $399. But now that anyone can waltz in to a carrier and walk out with a brand new iPhone for no-money-down, we're going to get killed at the end of the term.

You're paying $570 more for the iPhone, $120 more for the same dataplan, and will lose $299 on resale, all-in it's about $1,000 difference for the same phone. Apple and the carriers are getting greedy, going to turn off a lot of potential owners who have been loyal to Apple for years and the lack of newness in the 7 isn't going to help matters.

BJ

I honestly don't know how many people upgraded yearly versus two years or more when there were contracts. I can say with a decent amount of certainty that Apple and these carriers have a nice collection of statistics that they're able to look st when deciding what to do next with their pricing structures.

You may be right. People may bail and sales may decline drastically. I honestly haven't looked st enough information to be able to give an educated guess. My gut tells me we will start to see a decline for these and other reasons though. I think we've come to a point where phones are simply good enough to keep for multiple years even for enthusiasts. It didn't used to be that way

 

[baypharm]

That's taking advantage of a loophole and not part of this discussion. If you were to get a contract today, you wouldn't have access to unlimited data.

A loophole? Really? Just too funny. The carriers offered UDP at one time. Many of us here still have them. It's legal and there is no loophole to it.

 

[bniu]

I think with more people being exposed to the actual retail price of the phones, the demand curve will probably get shifted back to the left a bit, undoing the effect that subsidization does to demand. Thus, I think the market price will probably get un-inflated a bit, but not completely.

 

[JulesJam]

palpable

You mean palatable.

 

[boltjames]

I honestly don't know how many people upgraded yearly versus two years or more when there were contracts. I can say with a decent amount of certainty that Apple and these carriers have a nice collection of statistics that they're able to look st when deciding what to do next with their pricing structures.

You may be right. People may bail and sales may decline drastically. I honestly haven't looked st enough information to be able to give an educated guess. My gut tells me we will start to see a decline for these and other reasons though. I think we've come to a point where phones are simply good enough to keep for multiple years even for enthusiasts. It didn't used to be that way

+1

I'm a pretty good datapoint being one of the idiots who waited in line from 2AM to 10AM for each of the major iPhone releases, we've got 5 of them between my wife and kids in my family, I'm about as hardcore iPhone as it gets.

And I'm going to take a pass on this release. Just nothing new enough to get me excited and the iPhone 6 is the greatest consumer electronic product of all time, no need to upgrade. Now, if the pricing structure remained as it once was, different story, used to be we could break even on the hardware, but not anymore.

I think Apple and the carriers know they're about to see a 20% unit decline. All of their actions show a sharp turn towards battening down the hatches and tightening up for profitability, the consumer not as important as the bottom line. They'll be able to say that sales are off but profitability is flat, keeps the damage to the stock price to a minimum.

BJ