iPhone 8 Subsidies/Discounts

[nviz22]

With recent speculation regarding pricing, do you think there will be more subsidies and discounts because not everyone will feel the urge to drop $ all at once? This isn't another "guess the price" thread. Rather, I wanted to ask what to expect in terms of deals and subsidies? Rather I wanted to gauge people's opinions to see if the next bleeding edge chapter will lead towards phones selling themselves or if Apple/companies need to be creative in a mature market?

I expect some sort of price-discount strategy via a trade in or something of the sorts. Here is an example of one from last year: http://www.tmonews.com/2016/09/t-mobile-iphone-7-trade-in-deal-pricing-details/

Notice how 5C owners received an incentive to part ways with their obsolete products to get a more cutting edge iPhone 7/7+? That being said, Apple's #1 Android foe is aggressive with pricing strategies, at least in the US at least. Gear VR freebies, BOGO offers, Samsung Pay incentives, etc. Samsung may win in its promos because it might lock a new customer into an installment plan, hook someone into buying VR content, or expand its data repository and market share with Samsung Pay incentives. The end all goal is to create life long "Samsung customers."

Apple is a bit different because its brand grew remarkably under Steve Jobs. In addition, Tim Cook's Apple continues to maximize its profit margins into becoming a possible $1 trillion company in the future. But let's also be realistic because carriers want to make $ as well because they want subscribers for many years. Locking people into EIPs, installment plans, and contracts incentives consumers to get newer phones while spreading payments over time. I foresee this trend continuing as well.

What are some ideas do you see forthcoming in the next month or two to come?

 

[nviz22]

Spoke to T-Mobile and they said their deal last year was pretty smooth and applied to devices even on back order.

 

[ericg301]

I've been wondering this too.

T-Mobile shocked the industry last year with their very aggressive trade-in offer. And the other carriers had to pivot in just a few days to match (remember AT&T's initial trade-in offer required you to sign up for DIRECTV?)

Personally, on AT&T, I traded in my iPhone 6 for a 7 and my monthly bill went down $50 (two phones, two lines). But in order to get the full credit on the trade in, I have to keep the 7 for two full years. Which I'm fine with. But if T-Mobile again shakes things up and offers a crazy trade-in offer "and we'll pay off your current lease" -- the other carriers will then be forced to match...and basically "forgive" the 2nd year of the trade-in terms.

I'm sure all the carriers right now are crunching the numbers on their trade-in offers....knowing that they'll probably be outdated within days of the announcement anyway.

 

[nviz22]

I've been wondering this too.

T-Mobile shocked the industry last year with their very aggressive trade-in offer. And the other carriers had to pivot in just a few days to match (remember AT&T's initial trade-in offer required you to sign up for DIRECTV?)

Personally, on AT&T, I traded in my iPhone 6 for a 7 and my monthly bill went down $50 (two phones, two lines). But in order to get the full credit on the trade in, I have to keep the 7 for two full years. Which I'm fine with. But if T-Mobile again shakes things up and offers a crazy trade-in offer "and we'll pay off your current lease" -- the other carriers will then be forced to match...and basically "forgive" the 2nd year of the trade-in terms.

I'm sure all the carriers right now are crunching the numbers on their trade-in offers....knowing that they'll probably be outdated within days of the announcement anyway.

I am anticipating a somewhat cozy deal for my iPhone SE because they had one last year. Plus carriers don't benefit from people being one time only buying outright purchasers or people who simply buy outright and maintain a cheap plan.

 

[wxnats]

Bumping this — hopefully the carriers release info soon after the Apple event.

 

[nviz22]

Bumping this — hopefully the carriers release info soon after the Apple event.

They should unlike the Note 8 BOGO since that just leaked this week and the phone was announced back like August 23rd.

 

[9594864]

The only deals would come from carriers vying for contractually locking in subscribers. There's no reason to discount or subsidize the phone because the supply won't meet demand at full price.

 

[rzc16512]

The only deals would come from carriers vying for contractually locking in subscribers. There's no reason to discount or subsidize the phone because the supply won't meet demand at full price.

The bill credits (sort of) lock subscribers in with a contract through the bill credit promo. If you pay off the device early, upgrade, or cancel service you don't get the remaining service credits. The carriers don't pay full price for the devices, have a device they can refurbish and resell, and are now locking you in for 24 months so it's not as big of a loss as you might think

 

[wxnats]

The only deals would come from carriers vying for contractually locking in subscribers. There's no reason to discount or subsidize the phone because the supply won't meet demand at full price.

Agree. Though I’m interested to see if AT&T will offer their $20/monthly credit for customers who upgrade, similar to what I got for upgrading to the 7.