Maybe for the 3G. I don’t remember that for the first iPhone, 3G is the only generation I didn’t own.
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iPhone 12 Starts at $799 With T-Mobile and Sprint Activation After All, SIM-Free Model Still Starts at $829
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to buy it 'sim free' for 729 or 829; and is there a $30 carrier activation fee as well? so 759 and 859 total?
I thought Apple created or has an 'Apple SIM' that works on all carriers? or was that iPad only?
I thought Apple created or has an 'Apple SIM' that works on all carriers? or was that iPad only?
Why would you not have to pay it though? If the carriers decide to subsidise the phone, that's good for the guys getting a new contact with their phone. Apple's price for the phone is still $729, and unless you find a discount (ie some merchant giving you a "subsidy") that's what you pay.
Why do you guys always expect that the new iPhones will stay at the same price point?
Maybe developing the 5G stuff and adding the new modems is pricy stuff that justifies a price hike?
Nope, it was the original because I bought it during the holidays a few months after they had dropped the price.
edit: found it. They dropped price $200 but only gave $100 credit after people complained
Apple to offer $100 store credit to iPhone customers
The credit is a quick response to early adopters frustrated by dramatic iPhone price cuts announced just a day earlier.
www.cnet.com
Not really; you weren't paying the cost of the phone in your bill. If you were, when the phone was "paid off" and out of contract, your bill would drop by a certain amount.
But it did not. This would pressure people into upgrading, because they "might as well" get a new phone if they're eligible for another subsidy.
Frankly I like the new way better. Treat the phone as a separate thing you buy and pay for as a line item on the bill (or credit card) and have the service be on its own.
This $30 fee is bull, though.
Have a feeling that the carriers wanted Apple to release a 5G iPhone now to help them market 5G better. In exchange, Apple probably asked the carriers to subsidize $30.
Tmobile probably sent the check late...
Technically, they didn’t say the phone was $799, they said “starting from $799”, meaning at least one model would be available for that price, which was true. It would have been nicer if they’d all been at the same price, but part of that is on the carriers.
If you listen to their shareholder calls, the big 4 (now 3) say they view the $30 upgrade fee as a way to offset the 0% interest rate monthly payment plans. In other words, the payment plans are not really 0% because they require an upfront $30 fee for the loan. But if you buy the phone outright, then all you have to do is swap the SIM and don't pay that fee.
Not trying to justify it. The $30 fee is 100% bullpoo, and it's just the peak of the bullpoo fee telco mountain. Just giving context to how the telcos see it.
Except that the monthly credits pretty much guarantee customer stays with them for years (like a contract).
don't feel like listening to the call, can you explain in more detail? i know the 0% thing is BS and not really 0%. is the $30 fee a down payment to the bank?
Ah, that must of happened before I bought it. It must have been $400 for me. I don't ever remember getting a refund.Nope, it was the original because I bought it during the holidays a few months after they had dropped the price.
edit: found it. They dropped price $200 but only gave $100 credit after people complained
Apple to offer $100 store credit to iPhone customers
The credit is a quick response to early adopters frustrated by dramatic iPhone price cuts announced just a day earlier.
and the whole thing saves many plane loads of cargo, and less garbage.
I do think they could have given us usb-c wall adapters for this year but whatever. It saves shipping costs this way.
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yah. They do last a long time. I upgrade every year though. Life is too short not to have the latest.
I use my iPhone quite a bit. Nearly every day, so why not have it?
Yeah, I was surprised to see the price when I went to their site because all the publications I'd seen were reporting as 699/799, when really it should have been 729/829.
Just another reason to wait a few months and pick one up used for a few hundred less.
Yeah. They have never charged me for it, but it is a giant waste of time. I tried to have them do it over the phone as well and they refuse. But its by far the cheapest plan I can find so I deal with it.
I got iPhone (1) day 1 and got the $100 gift card a few months later. It was $599 for the 8GB model and a 2 year contract with AT&T (formerly Cingular). It was worth it at $599 even without gift card; it was really magical for the time. Price is pretty much the same now considering the contract was probably worth at least $200 and that’s not even considering inflation.
If you get the phone on an installment plan, they say they charge 0%. And that's technically true - the interest rate on the loan really is 0%. But they won't let you walk out the door without paying some kind of fee. So they charge $20-$40 depending on the carrier. They don't call that "interest," but it is a fee associated with the loan so to the consumer it's a distinction without a difference.
On a $1000 loan, paid back over 2 years, a $30 fee is equivalent to a 1.5% annual interest.