Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Did you buy your iPhone outright, or pay monthly?

  • Monthly (Through Carrier)

    Votes: 64 28.6%
  • Monthly (Apple Upgrade Program)

    Votes: 27 12.1%
  • Bought Out Right

    Votes: 124 55.4%
  • Other (Please State)

    Votes: 9 4.0%

  • Total voters
    224
iPhones were never just $200-300. They came with a mandatory data plan which added $30 to your monthly bill so the additional cost of the iPhone over the length of the 2-year contract was $920.

So you know people who don't use the internet on their iPhone?
 
Buy outright every year (selling my old one) and with cashback deals, my 1 year sim only deal works out to be a little over £7 a month. And can use it abroad when I travel. Screw being stuck in a 2 year contract costing over £60 a month!
 
So you know people who don't use the internet on their iPhone?
Wifi-only people? Yes, I do actually. I have a coworker who bought a refurb iPhone 6 Plus for $300 on ebay and uses it on H2O Wireless Pay As You Go plan. He spends $10 every 3 months for service. The really frugal people I know don't own cellphones.

Alas, I need my internet. I prefer the shared data plans, though. Before, I was paying $240/mo for 4 lines regardless if I upgrade phones or not because the subsidy was built-in to the data plan cost. Now, I just pay $160/mo for 4 lines.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BigMcGuire
Wifi-only people? Yes, I do actually. I have a coworker who bought a refurb iPhone 6 Plus for $300 on ebay and uses it on H2O Wireless Pay As You Go plan. He spends $10 every 3 months for service. The really frugal people I know don't own cellphones.

Alas, I need my internet. I prefer the shared data plans, though. Before, I was paying $240/mo for 4 lines regardless if I upgrade phones or not because the subsidy was built-in to the data plan cost. Now, I just pay $160/mo for 4 lines.

Yeah, we have all our phones paid off on my verizon family plan and we're going to be $190 for 5 lines for unlimited data. When we had subsidized phones each line was $20/mo more.

I have a coworker on a pay as you go plan. He saves a fortune. May not be able to do what I do, may have an Android phone from awhile ago, but he can afford to go out to eat.
 
I do EIP. I used to buy them right out but I'm not in the financial position to do so anymore. I trade in my device using JUMP, so I'm essentially just renting the phone. Sometimes I'll sell them and pay them off instead. That's if I want something else, sooner.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Livi
This is my first iPhone that I am paying monthly on. I am not a fan of it. I will probably pay it off and then wait for deals where you can buy iPhones on the cheap. I dont mind staying behind one model year.
 
Wifi-only people? Yes, I do actually. I have a coworker who bought a refurb iPhone 6 Plus for $300 on ebay and uses it on H2O Wireless Pay As You Go plan. He spends $10 every 3 months for service. The really frugal people I know don't own cellphones.

Alas, I need my internet. I prefer the shared data plans, though. Before, I was paying $240/mo for 4 lines regardless if I upgrade phones or not because the subsidy was built-in to the data plan cost. Now, I just pay $160/mo for 4 lines.

I don't see how you can say the phone didn't really cost 199 or 299 bc people had to buy a data plan. What if they were going to buy it anyway?

Using an iPhone without internet is like using a guitar with no strings.
 
I don't see how you can say the phone didn't really cost 199 or 299 bc people had to buy a data plan. What if they were going to buy it anyway?

Using an iPhone without internet is like using a guitar with no strings.
Unlimited data used to be $15-20/mo, iirc. It only went up to $30/mo when the iPhone subsidies started.
 
I love how easy the Early Upgrade Program is - I don’t have to worry about paying for the whole thing up front (although that’s not a big deal), I get to keep my accessories when I turn in the phone, and most importantly I don’t have to waste time trying to sell a phone.

However, the thing I don’t understand about the EUP is why carrier-specific phones are involved. Why not just make all of the EUP phones the SIM-free unlocked version that Apple eventually sells after a new release? How come they make Verizon iPhones, AT&T/T-Mobile iPhones, etc? Why not just give everyone the unlocked SIM-free phone that truly work with all carriers?
 
My IPhone 7plus and SE were bought outright. Everything before that was through the carrier and monthly. "Officially" At&T thinks I'm on my 6s Plus. I gave that to my sister-in-law. On my other line my S7 Edge was free from AT&T via BOGO and the husband's S7 Edge is being paid monthly. In reality we've already switched our sims to S8+ models bought outright from Samsung.

I'd rather pay outright than have AT&T dictate when I can upgrade. And they did try to tell us I have to use the S7 Edge for two years. They told me at the time we couldn't pay down my husband's S7 Edge early and update to the Note 8 when it's released. I didn't like that because the S7 Edge was what I was left with when the Note 7 was recalled.

Screw that. I'll buy my phones elsewhere and put my sim in whatever phone I damn well please whenever I please and all of my phones now are paid off or being paid on time, so they can bite me.
 
I think I'm going to go into the Apple upgrade program this year. Only $35 or so a month...
 
So many people acting like buying outright is the smartest thing when paying monthly payments towards a no interest payment plan is literally the exact same net result. If you don't plan on leaving your carrier and don't wanna pay almost a thousand bucks for a phone at once, it's a solid option and shouldn't be frowned upon

If you had a high interest credit card in which you used to pay for a phone and couldn't pay back the balance in a month, then sure. I get the point. But in this case, there's no credit card. There's just the carrier and making payments towards OWNING the device. Seems like a no brainer to me. Especially when you can get low payments that are equivalent to what you spend on Starbucks every month. Stop going to Starbucks. Boom. Free phone. Kinda. Smart money decision
[doublepost=1501174116][/doublepost]
Since the max score is 850, the margin can't be that nice.
Let the man show off to a bunch of strangers in peace. Geez
 
I love how easy the Early Upgrade Program is - I don’t have to worry about paying for the whole thing up front (although that’s not a big deal), I get to keep my accessories when I turn in the phone, and most importantly I don’t have to waste time trying to sell a phone.

However, the thing I don’t understand about the EUP is why carrier-specific phones are involved. Why not just make all of the EUP phones the SIM-free unlocked version that Apple eventually sells after a new release? How come they make Verizon iPhones, AT&T/T-Mobile iPhones, etc? Why not just give everyone the unlocked SIM-free phone that truly work with all carriers?
Because Apple doesn't want to use Qualcomm iPhones unless necessary, like on CDMA carriers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Applejuiced
I bought my phone outright (just like all my purchases). I use a credit card, but pay off every month so i can get the purchase protections that credit cards offer. If i can't afford something, then i should not be buying it in the first place. People get into trouble (chapter 11, debt, clutter and feeling a need to have storage unites or bigger homes that they can't afford) when they take possession of things they don't actually own.
[doublepost=1501260205][/doublepost]
I try to pay for my iPhones up front rather than owe my "soul to the company store". (For those of you who are old enough to remember Tennessee Ernie Ford)
Unless you work for Apple (or the phone company) that you are buying your phones and service then the phrase "owe my soul to the company store" does not apply to your situation.

The phrase "company store" was in reference to people that worked for companies that owned the towns they lived in as well as the homes employees lived in, their medical care (if any) was provided by the company doctors and dentists, and the company owned the stores they shopped in. Quit often the rent, doctor bills, and store bills were higher than privately owned business putting the employees into debt and they were never able to quit the company and move elsewhere for better paying jobs. The result was indentured servitude. One of the reasons that unions were created.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Applejuiced
I have only bought 1 phone since 2 year contracts went away, and it was purchased outright via Swappa.

Not sure how I'll purchase the iPhone 8. I'll wait to see if there are any trade in deals with an iPhone 6 via T-Mobile.
 
Monthly via carrier. Got a promo - $650 trade-in credit for iPhone 6 (spread out for 24 months) when you buy iPhone 7.

AT&T by any chance? I'm wondering what happens to my bill credit if I get a new phone (purchased outright).
 
AT&T by any chance? I'm wondering what happens to my bill credit if I get a new phone (purchased outright).
Yup. Although really, T-Mobile started it, Verizon copied T-Mobile fairly quickly and AT&T was last to jump on the bandwagon. :p

My guess, doesn't matter if you replace the actual device as long as you don't cancel the line or use the AT&T Next trade-in option. Tying you in for 24-30 months is the goal here. If they cancel the credit, then you have less incentive to stay with AT&T.
 
Always pay monthly through the carrier only because I have never been in a financial position to buy one outright.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.