Fair enough but there has never been an instance where unlocked out of the box costs more than at a carrier.
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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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Fair enough but there has never been an instance where unlocked out of the box costs more than at a carrier.
I think this is intended to prevent people from circumventing the carriers' "activation fees" by buying the SIM-free version and swapping the SIM. Can't leave out an opportunity to nickle and dime us some more.
I think there have. Sometimes $100 premium maybe. I could be wrong. In the past there times the unlocked was deleted 4-8 weeks too.
I may be repeating what’s already been said. Too many posts to read …
The reason ATT and Verizon phones with activation were announced $30 cheaper is because the two carriers charge a $30 and $40 resp. activation fee. T-Mobile/Sprint don’t charge activation.
So in fact in the end a Verizon iPhone 12 / Pro ends up being $10 more expensive than ATT or T-Mo phone.
T-Mobile did NOT have to match because giving up the $30 would have meant a loss on the phone. I think they may have hoped that customers would have read through the sleezy announcement and Marketing from Apple and understood that the best deal was still T-Mo (or ATT).
Unfortunately Americans have limited intelligence when it comes to these “deals”, surely never read the fine print (when there’s one), don’t know how to do the math, and always look for the lowest price - or all the above - and just saw the $799 price point, forgetting the activation fee.
So T-Mo had to do what they had to do … match the price! Because they knew they could not educate the US customer.
I hope T-Mo now charges a $30 activation fee because otherwise the $30 will directly hit the bottom line and their stock.
The reason ATT and Verizon phones with activation were announced $30 cheaper is because the two carriers charge a $30 and $40 resp. activation fee. T-Mobile/Sprint don’t charge activation.
So in fact in the end a Verizon iPhone 12 / Pro ends up being $10 more expensive than ATT or T-Mo phone.
T-Mobile did NOT have to match because giving up the $30 would have meant a loss on the phone. I think they may have hoped that customers would have read through the sleezy announcement and Marketing from Apple and understood that the best deal was still T-Mo (or ATT).
Unfortunately Americans have limited intelligence when it comes to these “deals”, surely never read the fine print (when there’s one), don’t know how to do the math, and always look for the lowest price - or all the above - and just saw the $799 price point, forgetting the activation fee.
So T-Mo had to do what they had to do … match the price! Because they knew they could not educate the US customer.
I hope T-Mo now charges a $30 activation fee because otherwise the $30 will directly hit the bottom line and their stock.
that is not the price apple is advertising though. they say $699. this is thrown on afterwards. unlocked iphones used to cost $-99, and now they will be costing $-29.
So, wouldn’t you be able to get around the BS activation fee by simply putting in your existing SIM card into the new phone?
I must have missed it. When was that? With the original iPhone, you had to be on AT&T. Then for the longest time, they never had unlocked phones in the US. Then they started offering unlocked phones, but only months after the release.
I have been wondering about that too. For now I just avoid eSims. At least with a physical sim I know I can switch phones whenever I want. Although ATT or Verizon may still charge a fee if they detect that a new imei connected to the line. They will probably justify it by saying that they are legally allowed to charge that fee. I am pretty sure T-Mobile won’t do that.
Because the margins on the Pro are already high enough.
Sort of like, "Why did the iPhone 11 Pro get an 18W charger when iPhone 11 only got 5W?"
There is no such thing as "high enough" margins. There is no limit to human greed.
They completely solved the charger difference problem this time around.
Certainly, Apple could charge $1,999 but would face backlash.
It's easy to add $30 to the mid-range iPhone and not attract negative headlines. It's a lot harder at the top end.
Nope. Never. Facts, please!
And if you’re referring to the contract phones from back in the days, you do know you were paying full price and more for your phone in the end… when there was an end to the higher line fee!
i haven't bought a phone from a carrier since 4s came unlocked and never been charged any fees. i was with at&t at first and switched over to t-mobile a few years later. my xs, which is still my current phone, was obvs the first esim-supporting model, so i don't yet know what will happen once i activate it in a new device, but i would be very surprised if they decide to charge me anything for transferring my number from one device to another.. plus t-mobile is usually very good about comping things like that for their customers.
exactly. bad enough there is tax, so the price is never actually -99 anything, but now it's even less honest than before.
If you pay full price, you don't have to pay the $30 fee either because you don't have to involve the carrier at all - just switch over the SIM.
I don't think your math is right. $1030 paid (A), of which $1000 is principal (P) over 2 years (t). Rate = (1/t)(A/P - 1) which comes out to 1.5%/year.
We here in America get completely butt pumped by corporations.
This entire fee/discount situation is ridiculous
This entire fee/discount situation is ridiculous
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...
This actually makes a lot of sense. The carriers have invested a ton in 5G. They need to get people using it. They probably find iPhone users are or will be bigger users. So they pushed harder for 5G this year. Apple says "no problem" but we want you you pony up some $ for every phone we sell.
