iPhone Upgrade Program [MERGED]

[vchristianman]

According to this if you make the payments for the entire 24 months you would then own the phone. However you have the option of upgrading to a new phone after 12 months. It seems exactly like the at&t next program .
An iPhone 6S Plus begins at $31 a month, 6S at $27 per month, 6 Plus at $27 per month, 6 at $23 per month and 5S at $19 per month. After 24 monthly installments, customers will then own those smartphones.
http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-lets-you-pay-for-an-iphone-with-an-installment-plan/#ftag=CAD590a51e

 

[HelloMikee]

I would be surprised if they did this otherwise wouldn't everyone do it, who could afford of course? Would 't they loose money this way?

Other wise is it cheaper or the same price to buy an iPhone then add Apple care +?

But isn't paying $XX amount per month for 12 months the same as paying $XX amount times 12 months now? It would be the exact same amount, I'd just rather do it up front.

Maybe I can just buy an iTunes gift card for that amount and have them withdraw it from their automatically a month?

Basically, the deal seems good to me and I'd like to just pay if off now instead of paying it each month.

 

[Blujelly]

So you basically take the iPhone out on loan for 24 months unlocked and you fell free to choose your carrier.

After 12 months you swap the iPhone in for a new one and have to pay no upfront costs every time. You pay a monthly costs of what ever tier you choose and assume and hope the price doesn't increase with every new iPhone

You just just a buy a SIM only plan with a carrier of your choice?

Does that sound about right?

 

[bigjnyc]

Here is my quick break down comparing att next vs apple program

att: 849/24 = $35.375/month
apple: $40.75/month

+$5.375/month (+$129 over 24months)

Applecare is $99.00

After 24 months you are paying $30 more with the apple program. Is it worth it to have an unlocked phone on day 1 vs day 730?

You are basically being forced to get Applecare+ which I never do, so for me it would be a $129 difference. Therefore I will be sticking with NEXT and enjoy applecare free and interest free financing.

 

[rui no onna]

Is that allowed? "Requires activation with a national carrier - AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile". Taken literally, you can't use one of their prepaid brands like MetroPCS or Cricket or an MVNO like Straight Talk.

Yep. That's a big question for some folks. Does it require you to have a traditional carrier plan? I do wonder if they're going to run a credit check. One of the requirements is having a US credit card so maybe if you have one they assume you're an OK risk? If they don't run a credit check, it's possible they might need you to have a postpaid plan as support of your credit worthiness. Alas, when I clicked on the link for the full terms and conditions, it just said Coming Soon.

Oh yeah, this will also increase iPhone ASPs because of all the folks who'll "buy" AC+ that wouldn't have gotten it if not for the installment plan.

 

[Blujelly]

But isn't paying $XX amount per month for 12 months the same as paying $XX amount times 12 months now? It would be the exact same amount, I'd just rather do it up front.

Maybe I can just buy an iTunes gift card for that amount and have them withdraw it from their automatically a month?

Basically, the deal seems good to me and I'd like to just pay if off now instead of paying it each month.

The only thing I can see as a pit fall is they may say yes you can pay early but there could be a end one contract change for like £50 or $ maybe?

 

[Smileyboy]

Craigslist with cash. I hate eBay. Best way to sell

 

[bbplayer5]

This is the crappy part.. Say you sign up Saturday after making an appointment. The phone will already be long since sold out, and you probably wont receive one for a month or more. From the looks of it, you can only upgrade after 12 payments (one year), or spread it out over 2. Your 12th payment may not even come until several months after the iPhone 7 is released, so you will continually be behind on the new releases.

Forcing people to go to an Apple store for this promotion is asinine. Online credit or bust.

 

[jpcarro]

3d grade Math problem is a real problem on the forum .

128 iPhone 6s (not plus) = 849, New Apple care for 6s is 129. We have 849 + 129 = 978/(12*2)=978/24=40.75. It is 0 percent financial loan for iphone 6s 128+ apple care.

1. Will we preorder online and go to the store day one to obtain the iPhone and sign credit documents?
2. If it is unlocked - what model is it GSM with LTE band 30 or VZW?Sprint CDMA without LTE30? LTE 30 is the future band for Att.
3. The main question : Can I get it day 1?
4. I don't care if I can pay it faster since it is ZERO PERCENT LOAN. BUT... every year when I sell my old iPhone I call Apple and get refund for unused part of Apple Care. Not easy, they transfer me 2-3 times, but I get it. Can I make the same with Apple credit-upgrade program?
5. How much will it be to unlock iPhone 6s with 3d part vendors if I go with Att 2 years contract?

^^^This
#1 Seems to me you risk a launch-day phone with the extra appointment step.

#2 Don't think you can buy an officially unlocked iPhone...since you have to choose a carrier. (But go with T-Mobile)
#3 And there's Apple's hidden profit. I bet you won't be able to get a partial AppleCare+ refund.

#5 I usually time my 3rd party unlock to when the price is about $30.

 

[vchristianman]

Another thing preordering starts saturday september 12th and the new iphone is scheduled to be released septemeber 25th. According to the website being on the 12th people can go online and make reservations to go into the store and signup for the upgrade program I assume that the reservations will be for the 25th when which is release date and if a person approved for the program they will probably get the phone then.

 

[mashinhead]

It's no different than leasing a car. You still have to return the car, or pay it off at the end. But the biggest difference is that you're only paying $30-45 for the phone per month. If you divide the total cost of a phone by 12 it's more than that.. so you're not paying for the entire phone. You're paying for 12 months and then keep on paying to have a new phone.

I disagree. You are leasing it but you are paying much more for that lease with nothing to show for it. It's 45 a month for a 128 GB 6s+. That $540 per year, or $1080 for two years. Now granted that is the same price you can probably by the phone for outright, but you get to keep and then later sell and recoup a greater sum of that cost. The pay over time cost for two years works because your just financing the cost.

But to pay $540 every year, and change your phone every year means your paying 1080 over two years and you have nothing at the end of a day. You're paying for a phone in it's entirety only you don't get the phone...

 

[Nautilus007]

I mean you can potentially save Tax doing this.
I see it as a hassle free way to have the phone without having to upgrade.

Now the best course of action would be to do this and then upgrade any way through a carrier and sell the phone..

 

[solarguy17]

One thing that isn't clear and I think I need to contact Apple and ATT seperatly to find out.

If you are on an 2 year contract (unlimited or not). Does getting a phone on this upgrade program from Apple force you into a Mobile Data Share plan similar to Next. And if so do you pay the $15 connection fee, or do you pay the "brought my own phone" $40 fee.
But if it doesn't force you to a MDS plan, does it change your upgrade eligibility? Could I double dip? Upgrade my unlimited plan to a new phone through ATT 2 year contract and separately sign up for the iPhone upgrade program?

If on a MDS plan already, does buying a phone from Apple upgrade increase your connection fee from $15 to $40 because you "brought you own phone"?

All questions Apple websites doesn't seem clear on.

 

[southflguy]

I disagree. You are leasing it but you are paying much more for that lease with nothing to show for it. It's 45 a month for a 128 GB 6s+. That $540 per year, or $1080 for two years. Now granted that is the same price you can probably by the phone for outright, but you get to keep and then later sell and recoup a greater sum of that cost. The pay over time cost for two years works because your just financing the cost.

But to pay $540 every year, and change your phone every year means your paying 1080 over two years and you have nothing at the end of a day. You're paying for a phone in it's entirety only you don't get the phone...

I'm not saying it's right for everyone (I always buy the phones outright and then resell them a year later). But you DO have the option of just keeping the phone for 2 years and it's just essentially an interest free loan. But the deal lies with the fact that you can get a new phone and essentially they are "forgiving" the 2nd year and get you into a new lease. For some people this might be a good way to have a low payment they expect monthly forever. For others buying and reselling the phone is a better way to go. In the end you are better buying the phone outright as you likely come out several hundred dollars better than this new program by Apple.

 

[BerMuc]

Just talked to an Apple Store representative (online), he said that Annual Upgrade Program customers will be able to preorder devices just like everyone else (there will be an option on checkout).

 

[engelke2010]

Can we have them run the credit check before we preorder? I want to be sure I qualify before Friday night so if I don't, I can go back to the Next program.

 

[mantan]

Okay folks. Not trying to be mean, but....

Think through it. If you BUY the phone from somebody else (Tmobile here), why would you then pay somebody else (Apple) for the phone as well? Buying it twice?

Simple stuff. You buy it from the carrier or you buy it from Apple or you buy it from Best Buy, etc.

Very simple. When you're buying it from a carrier, you're not really buying it. They are just the middle man. They make zero money on the transaction itself, it's all on the service. The only upside for the carrier selling it is they can get you into a service agreement. That's the win for them.

Apple doesn't care who you get service from. They make their (quite significant) margin the money the phone is sold. At that point they don't care who we get service for or what we do afterwards.

But by selling it directly, it is a nice way to pad sales with some built in AppleCare profit.

 

[caligurl]

I am on the ATT Next 18 plan now. Which means one more monthly payment and I can turn in my current 6+ and get the 6S+ and just continue on with my payments. I can't see spending close to $500 to "rent" a phone for a year. I just thought I would switch this current 6+ over to my wife and start up a new Next program to get the 6S+. after a few more months my original 6+ payments will be completed and I would own that phone outright.
What are you thoughts? Keep paying on a phone to own it, or go with apple and turn the phone in each year? For my situation, the Next program worked out best for me, as changing our plan saved us money, and got me the latest and greatest every year.

I'm sticking with NEXT

 

[terraphantm]

You also avoid the activation fee that you normally pay with AT&T and Verizon, which I think is a ridiculous $40 nowadays

 

[Magaman]

I talked to Verizon and get some clarification....This is how cell phone buying should be, you buy hardware you buy service from whoever you like for as long as you like. You can now buy hardware directly from Apple in a payment plan, you pay Apple monthly for hardware and a carrier monthly for service. Before we were paying both monthly charges to the carriers as they were the ones covering the upfront costs.
You can still buy from the carrier but they are going to push you into Next, edge or whatever plan they offer for 24 months. Again they are paying the upfront costs, and instead of the extra money being bundled into our service plans it's a separate line on the bill.
You can also buy outright. Bottomline you are now either entering into a hardware contract with Apple or are service contract with the carriers or just laying out all the money.
As far as the best deal goes you have to do the math at both the carrier and Apple level. But don't forget if you buy from carrier you are stuck with them for 24 months. Buying from Apple might cost a small premium but you can switch service providers at will.

 

[CE3]

I'm interested in the upgrade program, but it looks like they only allow you to choose between 4 carriers and I'm currently with US Cellular, which is a major carrier in a number of states. If the phone is unlocked, why does it still need to be tied to the 4 major carriers?

Hopefully they'll change this. Apple Care is a better option than the insurance I pay for every month, and I'd rather have an unlocked device.

 

[southflguy]

One thing that isn't clear and I think I need to contact Apple and ATT seperatly to find out.

If you are on an 2 year contract (unlimited or not). Does getting a phone on this upgrade program from Apple force you into a Mobile Data Share plan similar to Next. And if so do you pay the $15 connection fee, or do you pay the "brought my own phone" $40 fee.
But if it doesn't force you to a MDS plan, does it change your upgrade eligibility? Could I double dip? Upgrade my unlimited plan to a new phone through ATT 2 year contract and separately sign up for the iPhone upgrade program?

If on a MDS plan already, does buying a phone from Apple upgrade increase your connection fee from $15 to $40 because you "brought you own phone"?

All questions Apple websites doesn't seem clear on.

Not likely - if you already have a phone that has a nano sim, just put the sim in your new iPhone 6S/Plus. It doesn't affect anything with your plan. Your carrier doesn't care where you get the phone from (although I'm sure they'd like you to get it from them). Your obligation to them is the monthly plan if you're still on a contract.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

This program is pretty tempting as someone who likes to get a new phone every year like myself. I'm still on AT&T Unlimited data and am eligible for a 2-year upgrade which I was planning on using for the 6S Plus. Apple's new program is enticing but financially it probably makes more sense for me to take the subsidy and next year sell the phone for more than what I paid for it and pay the difference to get the iPhone 7 at full retail. I'll have to work out some math over the next few days before pre-orders start to see what makes more sense.

Another thing for you to think about, you can't use your subsidy unless you order from At&t. You can't order from apple for a 2 year contract anymore.

 

[rui no onna]

Umm, you do get to keep the phone if you want. It's a 24-month installment plan with option to trade-in at 12 months. And since the cost of device and Apple Care+ are evenly divided among the 12 months, that's an implicit AC+ refund if you trade-in. You basically pay MSRP/2 for the phone and $130/2=$65 for AC+.

 

[randian]

^^^This
#1 Seems to me you risk a launch-day phone with the extra appointment step.
#2 Don't think you can buy an officially unlocked iPhone...since you have to choose a carrier. (But go with T-Mobile)
#3 And there's Apple's hidden profit. I bet you won't be able to get a partial AppleCare+ refund.

#1: yes that's not good. I assume you wouldn't have to do that every year.
#2: According to the Upgrade Program page your phone is indeed unlocked
#3: If you upgrade annually you'll only have paid $64.50 for AppleCare+. Just as good as a refund. Probably why the deductible went up to $99.