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AT&T Upgrade pricing for new iPhones?

frequeniquity

frequeniquity

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 9, 2004
47
0
With the launch of the next iPhone upon us I was wondering what AT&T's upgrade pricing has been in the past. My first iPhone was the 3g and I then bought the iPhone 4 on launch day so I have never been under the 2 year contract when upgrading thus the lack of experience.

I dialed *639# and received a text which stated the following:

A full discount on a standard device or iPhone upgrade is not available at this time but you may qualify on 11/18/2011. We can offer you a discounted iPhone upgrade at 2-yr commitment pricing + $250 along with a new 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee. Please visit a participating iPhone sales location for pricing on this offer.
Click to expand...

So all things being equal (I haven't had an economics course in 8 years but I still remember ceteris paribus) iPhone pricing would be either $467 or $567.

:eek:

This leads me to two questions.

1. Is this what has happened in the past if you buy on launch day from year to year?

2. Are you rich?
 
AT&T normally pushes up the upgrade to iPhone users every year.

Most people here have bought every iPhone since the 3G subsidized. They bought the 3G for $199, then the 3GS for $199, then the 4 for $199, and will most likely buy the iPhone5 for $199.
 
fireshot91 said:
AT&T normally pushes up the upgrade to iPhone users every year.
Click to expand...

No they don't.
They did it one year because they were losing their exclusivity contract and wanted to get people locked in for another year or two.
We've got the same sort of situation this year with Sprint and T-Mobile coming aboard (rumored) so it could happen again but this is in no way a normal pattern.
 
Gjwilly said:
No they don't.
They did it one year because they were losing their exclusivity contract and wanted to get people locked in for another year or two.
We've got the same sort of situation this year with Sprint and T-Mobile coming aboard (rumored) so it could happen again but this is in no way a normal pattern.
Click to expand...

They did it with the 3GS (They couldn't really do it with the 3G as the original wasn't subsidized), then they did it with the 4. That's twice.

Everytime a new subsidized iPhone was released and somebody was already in a contract beforehand with an iPhone, they pushed up their release date. 100% of the time.

Statistics say it's likely they'll do it again.


And heck, I bought a 3GS, and at the time the iPhone 4 was released, I went and bought a Captivate. Then my upgrade date was pushed up this year also, and I could upgrade in July (1 year since I bought the Captivate).


Its dependent on how much you pay monthly. If you pay over x amount (I think it's like $100?), then they'll push up your upgrade to lock you into another two year contract.
 
fireshot91 said:
Everytime a new subsidized iPhone was released and somebody was already in a contract beforehand with an iPhone, they pushed up their release date. 100% of the time.
Click to expand...

fireshot91 said:
Its dependent on how much you pay monthly. If you pay over x amount (I think it's like $100?), then they'll push up your upgrade to lock you into another two year contract.
Click to expand...

Make up your mind.
Is it 100% or is it dependant upon what you pay.

And no, they didn't do it for the iPhone 4.
They did it at the end of the year when their exclusivity was ending.
It was before the iPhone 4 was even announced.
Yes, it benefitted iPhone 4 buyers but the iPhone 4 release was not the impetus.
 
AT&T Upgrades are somewhat on a 2-year upgrade system when compared to other carriers like Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile. Only recently did Verizon move off from a system that calculated upgrades by MRC(Your plan Value) as well as tenure and past payment history which is the same system AT&T is on. It all depends on your plan, how many lines are on the account, tenure and past payment history.

-Phil
 
merccyyy said:
AT&T Upgrades are somewhat on a 2-year upgrade system when compared to other carriers like Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile. Only recently did Verizon move off from a system that calculated upgrades by MRC(Your plan Value) as well as tenure and past payment history which is the same system AT&T is on. It all depends on your plan, how many lines are on the account, tenure and past payment history.

-Phil
Click to expand...

It used to be. Different now.

Used to be every 12 months for family plan account holders and >100 individual bills and 18 months for everyone else. Now it's 18 months for everybody. When you upgrade, you're accepting the new allowance terms.
 
blevins321 said:
It used to be. Different now.

Used to be every 12 months for family plan account holders and >100 individual bills and 18 months for everyone else. Now it's 18 months for everybody. When you upgrade, you're accepting the new allowance terms.
Click to expand...

No one has upgrades every 18months. You can sure get an upgrade but to get the FULL upgrade its every 22. I have a full upgrade with AT&T every getting the iphone4 at launch. Like I said, AT&T is the only carrier left that does not have upgrades every 22 months no matter what. As I have friends that work different carriers I do understand what Im talking about. Especially as a T-Mobile employee that still has an AT&T account.
 
Gjwilly said:
Make up your mind.
Is it 100% or is it dependant upon what you pay.

And no, they didn't do it for the iPhone 4.
They did it at the end of the year when their exclusivity was ending.
It was before the iPhone 4 was even announced.
Yes, it benefitted iPhone 4 buyers but the iPhone 4 release was not the impetus.
Click to expand...

End of the year? I swore Jobs made an announcement at the event last year that AT&T were moving the dates up for a specified amount of subscribers. May want to take a look at the key note from last year.
 
frequeniquity said:
2. Are you rich?
Click to expand...
If you kept your old iPhone in decent condition, you should be able to sell it for enough to significantly offset the upgrade price.

Gjwilly said:
I've been on a family plan since it was Cingular (PacBell actually) and we never had 12 month upgrades.
Click to expand...
Plenty of (heated) threads on here from previous iPhone launches were some AT&T customers were allowed to upgrade every 12 months, FWIW. Others were like you, and never allowed to do that.
 
aristobrat said:
If you kept your old iPhone in decent condition, you should be able to sell it for enough to significantly offset the upgrade price.


Plenty of (heated) threads on here from previous iPhone launches were some AT&T customers were allowed to upgrade every 12 months, FWIW. Others were like you, and never allowed to do that.
Click to expand...

Its AT&T's system based off Tenure, MRC(Rate Plan Features) and past payment history. I was one of the customers that have been able to upgrade every 12 months or so.
 
aristobrat said:
Plenty of (heated) threads on here from previous iPhone launches were some AT&T customers were allowed to upgrade every 12 months, FWIW. Others were like you, and never allowed to do that.
Click to expand...

Yes, I know and it always, always, always boiled down to your bill, your tenure, and your payment history.
There is no secret handshake.
Listen to merccyyy.
 
Also taken straight from the AT&T website when looking at upgrades

You can take advantage of our full retail pricing for an iPhone at participating retail sales locations. Additional discounts may be available on 00/00/0000. More Details: Equipment discounts are available from time to time based on a number of factors: service tenure, spending levels, payment history, usage practices, and other factors.
Click to expand...
 
If you're not eligible for a full upgrade and it's been about 8-12 months since your last upgrade, the pricing for you should be 399/499.
 
It largely depends upon your plan. I don't have the actual calculation, but essentially they shave time off of the subsidy price for bills over a certain amount. If you have a higher end plan of about ~$100 per phone per month, you will usually be eligible in 12 months. This is calculated every month, so if your plan changes during the term, your upgrade time will also move.
 
fireshot91 said:
AT&T normally pushes up the upgrade to iPhone users every year.

Most people here have bought every iPhone since the 3G subsidized. They bought the 3G for $199, then the 3GS for $199, then the 4 for $199, and will most likely buy the iPhone5 for $199.
Click to expand...

Well, I bought the 3G for $299, then once I was eligible the 4 in July for $299. I'm not eligible according to the text until, I think, March 2012. So I must have a lower average bill than the OP.

I'm not even sure that I will buy the 5. I'm leaning toward skipping the 5 for a 4G capable model, or even try TMobile if they offer a better plan than ATT.
 
frequeniquity said:
With the launch of the next iPhone upon us I was wondering what AT&T's upgrade pricing has been in the past. My first iPhone was the 3g and I then bought the iPhone 4 on launch day so I have never been under the 2 year contract when upgrading thus the lack of experience.

I dialed *639# and received a text which stated the following:



So all things being equal (I haven't had an economics course in 8 years but I still remember ceteris paribus) iPhone pricing would be either $467 or $567.

:eek:

This leads me to two questions.

1. Is this what has happened in the past if you buy on launch day from year to year?

2. Are you rich?
Click to expand...

Well if you just wait until November, you can get the iPhone for $199/$299
 
merccyyy said:
No one has upgrades every 18months. You can sure get an upgrade but to get the FULL upgrade its every 22. I have a full upgrade with AT&T every getting the iphone4 at launch. Like I said, AT&T is the only carrier left that does not have upgrades every 22 months no matter what. As I have friends that work different carriers I do understand what Im talking about. Especially as a T-Mobile employee that still has an AT&T account.
Click to expand...

That's not true. My 'FULL' upgrade was 18 months after I bought my iPhone 3g; 24 Aug 09 - 24 Feb 11. I used my upgrade on an Atrix when it released in March.

As far as the 'moving up upgrades for the iPhone', it wasn't a universal thing. It was for anyone that was due an upgrade anytime before the end of the year. I couldn't get the upgrade price because I wasn't due until Feb '11.
 
merccyyy said:
No one has upgrades every 18months. You can sure get an upgrade but to get the FULL upgrade its every 22. I have a full upgrade with AT&T every getting the iphone4 at launch. Like I said, AT&T is the only carrier left that does not have upgrades every 22 months no matter what. As I have friends that work different carriers I do understand what Im talking about. Especially as a T-Mobile employee that still has an AT&T account.
Click to expand...

Wrong. I bought my iPhone 4 on the day it came out and now I'm eligible for a full upgrade in mid-late November 2011. You do the math. Try being a lil less cocky next time. Now go back to harassing people walking by in the mall.
 
kas23 said:
Try being a lil less cocky next time. Now go back to harassing people walking by in the mall.
Click to expand...

He was saying that no carrier gives every customer 18-month upgrades.
That's what the person before him claimed and that's what he was refuting.
Context my cocky friend. Context.
 
Just check with AT&T with your current upgrade pricing. Whatever they make you pay for the iPhone 4, you will most likely pay that same price for the next iPhone unless your upgrade date just so happens to fall right when the next iPhone is released (possibility: Apple moves upgrade dates up if you are within 6 months).

Also, it's funny how Apple charges $399/499 but AT&T raises it and charges the extra $50 making it $449/549. Just an FYI.
 
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