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Do you reckon us iPhone users will be able to upgrade early into our contracts?
- Thread starter SilentLoner
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If it's anything like when the 3G phones were released then yes. Basically you agree to extend your contract by 18 months and they let you buy a new iPhone at the subsidised price (and keep your existing iPhone). At least I think that's how it worked with O2 in the UK...
Do carriers usually let people out of their contracts six months early without penalty?
Big difference this time around: the iPhone 3G was subsidized. The original iPhone was not.
My guess is there will be some sort of discount for current iPhone 3G owners, but it won't be as significant a discount as a new customer or someone who is due an upgrade would get.
No, they don't.
There is no guarantee that they will be letting people out of their existing contracts early just to upgrade.
I think people are forgetting that the introduction of the 3G led to a "special" offer from O2 (UK and ATT (US)… allowing people to "break" an existing contract to buy a 3G.
Remember that these 3G iPhones have all been subsidised and phone companies will be holding people to the letter of the contract. They can't just write off the loss.
Yes, but the phone company still paid Apple full price… they need to get back the extra cash from you… and that takes a certain amount of time.
Probably something like that.
But however it works out there is going to be a hell of a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth on these forums…
Why wouldn't it matter? It's really sweet that they will be renewing their contracts but it doesn't change the fact that they still haven't fulfilled their existing contract! I don't know about you, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense from where I'm standing for a company to discount a product $XXX in exchange for having people sign a contract only to let them out of their contracts 2/3 of the way through. That's not how successful businesses are run.
if it continued after the original date though so i could get the new one but the new upgrade only starts at the end of the original 18 months so say the 18 months ends in january the new contract starts from their for 18 months even though I upgraded in September etc.
A likely scenario. The intense whining from current iPhone 3G owners upset about not being finished with their contracts yet will probably cause many carriers to announce upgrade pricing, just like you've described. And yet, I'm sure the forums will still be flooded with complaints from people who think they're special and should be allowed to break their contracts without penalty.
So you want to sign a new contract, not effective immediately, but 'tacked on' to the end of your existing contract? And what about summer 2010, when the next iPhone comes out - I guess you'll want to do the same thing then?
Yeah. It's not gonna happen.
FWIW, AT&T has certain points where you can upgrade earlier than two years. I forget the exact breakpoints, but if you're paying more than a certain amount (I think $75/month) for more than 3 months, you can upgrade at 15-18 months. If you are paying even more than that ($100+ on a family plan or something similar), they'll sometimes let lines upgrade at 12-13 months.
The big thing is how badly they want your monthly revenue versus the value of the subsidy. If you're paying $40-50/month, they'd rather hang onto their subsidy, because you aren't a big enough cashflow to matter. If you're paying +$75, you've probably got a data plan, a texting plan, and a voice plan...which makes you a predictable higher revenue stream and therefore a very valuable customer. They do not want the customer who pays $95/month to go month-to-month and get lured in by a competitor, or have the customer paying $95 to decide the reduced ETF is worth it to break the contract and get a new phone elsewhere.
Having said all that, I could see the 3G people being allowed to upgrade 15-18 months into their contracts as opposed to launch day. But honestly, AT&T and Apple need a lower intensity launch day after the 3G insanity last year.
The big thing is how badly they want your monthly revenue versus the value of the subsidy. If you're paying $40-50/month, they'd rather hang onto their subsidy, because you aren't a big enough cashflow to matter. If you're paying +$75, you've probably got a data plan, a texting plan, and a voice plan...which makes you a predictable higher revenue stream and therefore a very valuable customer. They do not want the customer who pays $95/month to go month-to-month and get lured in by a competitor, or have the customer paying $95 to decide the reduced ETF is worth it to break the contract and get a new phone elsewhere.
Having said all that, I could see the 3G people being allowed to upgrade 15-18 months into their contracts as opposed to launch day. But honestly, AT&T and Apple need a lower intensity launch day after the 3G insanity last year.
Last time around on O2 UK, anyone with an original iPhone who wanted a 3G when it came out could cancel their original 18 month contract and take out a new one if they wanted a 3G, but they had already paid £269 for the iPhone. and it was only 8 months later from the original to the 3G in the UK.
The 3G contracts were different though with the 3G subsidised and people getting them for free on certain tariffs.
Thing is i cant see O2 not letting people upgrade to the new iPhone because there will be a lot of pissed off people if they cant upgrade to the latest model.
Also, anyone who wants an iPhone generally has an iPhone, they wouldn't sell too many if they didn't let people upgrade out of their contract.
Thing is people in the UK are used to getting their phones for free through subsidisation, and i cant see people wanting to pay out £250+ for a new phone in this economic climate, i myself wouldnt be able to afford it, but would quite happily upgrade if i had to sign a new 18 month contract.
The 3G contracts were different though with the 3G subsidised and people getting them for free on certain tariffs.
Thing is i cant see O2 not letting people upgrade to the new iPhone because there will be a lot of pissed off people if they cant upgrade to the latest model.
Also, anyone who wants an iPhone generally has an iPhone, they wouldn't sell too many if they didn't let people upgrade out of their contract.
Thing is people in the UK are used to getting their phones for free through subsidisation, and i cant see people wanting to pay out £250+ for a new phone in this economic climate, i myself wouldnt be able to afford it, but would quite happily upgrade if i had to sign a new 18 month contract.
You never know... they may release the new one on PAYG at the same time - then you can pay the extortionate £400 for that and put your contract SIM in it...
But no, they probably won't let us out of our existing contracts easily (unless they make us extend our contract by 18 months from the date that it would have ended)
But no, they probably won't let us out of our existing contracts easily (unless they make us extend our contract by 18 months from the date that it would have ended)
Mavis answered this quite succinctly:
It's not going to happen…So you want to sign a new contract, not effective immediately, but 'tacked on' to the end of your existing contract? And what about summer 2010, when the next iPhone comes out - I guess you'll want to do the same thing then?
Yeah. It's not gonna happen.
You can't just add on 18 months every time a new iPhone is released… It makes zero sense — when is the phone company going to get its subsidised amount back from you? Just write it off with some creative accounting?
I'm so thankful...
That my family plan of 5 lines consists of 3 people who don't care about high tech phones... I always have open lines on an offset loop so that I'm always able to upgrade! I have 2 lines open right now to upgrade with another set to go in December!
That my family plan of 5 lines consists of 3 people who don't care about high tech phones... I always have open lines on an offset loop so that I'm always able to upgrade! I have 2 lines open right now to upgrade with another set to go in December!
Do carriers usually let people out of their contracts six months early without penalty?
Big difference this time around: the iPhone 3G was subsidized. The original iPhone was not.
Except the new device is going to be targeted to existing iPhone customers.
Why?
Why would it be targeted at existing iPhone users?
Surely you could have said the same about the 3G's release?