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iPhone Upgrade Program vs Full Price Unlocked

mac.cali said:
How do you come up with a free phone? If people are upgrading yearly using this program, essentially you're leasing the phone. Once done you trade in for a newer model. You never really own the phone, but for most it doesn't matter since they are upgrading yearly.
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EDIT: I'm sorry I originally quoted the wrong post, I've edited this post correcting the above quote.

What he's getting at is if you do this Apple iPhone Upgrade Program and then bring the phone to AT&T and are on a mobile share value plan, you'll get a $15 or $25 "discount" on the access charge.. so the actual monthly cost of the phone is "offset." If you're on a higher tier mobile share plan and get a $25 discount.. the most expensive 6S Plus 128GB is truly only $44.91-$25 or.. $19.91/month.

What the original poster is forgetting is if he has a contract on a iPhone 6 through AT&T, he still has a year to satisfy before he qualifies for the discount.
 
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pcmike said:
What he's getting at is if you do this Apple iPhone Upgrade Program and then bring the phone to AT&T and are on a mobile share value plan, you'll get a $15 or $25 "discount" on the access charge.. so the actual monthly cost of the phone is "offset." If you're on a higher tier mobile share plan and get a $25 discount.. the most expensive 6S Plus 128GB is truly only $44.91-$25 or.. $19.91/month.

What the original poster is forgetting is if he has a contract on a iPhone 6 through AT&T, he still has a year to satisfy before he qualifies for the discount.
Click to expand...

I dont know what a mobile share plan has to do with the specific part of the quote I was responding to ?

I think the guy just asked if he got the next Iphone 12 months in would he just have 12 months left, I said no, the plan resets.
 
psylence2k said:
I dont know what a mobile share plan has to do with the specific part of the quote I was responding to ?

I think the guy just asked if he got the next Iphone 12 months in would he just have 12 months left, I said no, the plan resets.
Click to expand...

I quoted the wrong post.. here's the post I was intending to make..

mac.cali said:
How do you come up with a free phone? If people are upgrading yearly using this program, essentially you're leasing the phone. Once done you trade in for a newer model. You never really own the phone, but for most it doesn't matter since they are upgrading yearly.
Click to expand...

What he's getting at is if you do this Apple iPhone Upgrade Program and then bring the phone to AT&T and are on a mobile share value plan, you'll get a $15 or $25 "discount" on the access charge.. so the actual monthly cost of the phone is "offset." If you're on a higher tier mobile share plan and get a $25 discount.. the most expensive 6S Plus 128GB is truly only $44.91-$25 or.. $19.91/month.

What the original poster is forgetting is if he has a contract on a iPhone 6 through AT&T, he still has a year to satisfy before he qualifies for the discount.
 
The math on this doesn't work for my situation. I'm on AT&T and they let you do an early upgrade, provided you're on contract, for an extra $250 over the 2 year contract price. E.g., I can get an iPhone 6s Plus 16gb for $549 provided I sign another 2 year even though I'm only 1 year into my last contract after purchasing the iPhone 6 Plus last year. I can easily sell my phone for at least $400+ right now with minimal effort. Even if I sold it for only $300 it would only cost me $250 to upgrade every year. This all assumes AT&T doesn't change their policies with regards to pricing and contracts going forward. That's a big if... I used to be able to upgrade my primary line every year at the subsidized price, but that seems to be gone.

I'm not worried about locking myself into another contract with AT&T as the only other provider I would be interested in would be T-Mobile. They will pay off my ETF no problem for me to switch so there's no downside.
 
What happens if Apple releases the next generation iPhone and it costs more than the previous model? Our monthly payments would increase and so would AppleCare :) Then you are stuck paying full retail price of a phone that's a generation old because you can't afford to upgrade.
 
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Thing is I don't want to pay for Apple Care. So Apple Upgrade program is expensive to me. But it eliminates all the reselling hassle.
 
psylence2k said:
I think you could easily sell your 1 year old Iphone for the same amount you would have a year left on the loan.
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In that case this is probably not such a bad deal as you come out about even and don't have to deal with the hassle of selling your old phone, plus you can keep it until you get the new one instead of having to sell it early and use an old phone for a month or two to get the best price.
 
dwd3885 said:
Yes this. People, please don't go into debt to buy a new phone. This is what's wrong with America.
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At the same time it's not the best idea to actually own something that drops in value so fast. And there is no interest charged on these payment plans so they aren't so bad. Now if you are buying it outright with a credit card and making payments on that instead of paying off the full balance when it comes due that's a problem.
 
flur said:
You will still have to pay tax on the phone if you do the upgrade program, and as the tax varies by state, it's likely not included in the number. So really it's full price $848 versus financed $878.
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Actually, seems like AppleCare+ increased to $129 so that's $878 full price and $878 financed. :p
 
mrkramer said:
At the same time it's not the best idea to actually own something that drops in value so fast.
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The upgrade plan isn't a lease, even though they're dressing it up like one. They are selling you a phone for full price, and their bank is financing you for that full price phone. All they're doing is agreeing to take it and the loan off your hands when you're only 1/2 done paying for it. It's a decent deal, but it's not a great deal.

I've had my 5s for two years. I paid for it in full - $849 + tax - when I got it. It's got a trade in value of $200-300 (depending on the carrier), and I could probably sell it privately for at least that. At $200 trade-in, the total cost is $649, which is $325/year. If I'd done a plan like Apple's, I would have paid $425 for that first year, and (since the 64gb ip6 cost $100 less), $375 for that second year. That means I'm paying a premium of $150 to have the latest and greatest each year.

The best idea in this case IS to actually own, and not to upgrade every year.
 
I'm in for the Upgrade Program, but here's my concern: since you have to actually come in to the retail store to do this program, how fast will the "buy reservations" fill in on launch day/weekend? Are there going to be separate steps during the ordering process? Pre-order delivery times fall to weeks quickly during the first minutes, so I'm worried that if I don't secure a reservation and then try to buy full price I might not get it at launch day, unless I make the trip to the store and wait hours ... I guess this only matters if you're picky about getting your phone at launch day. Anyone thinking about this?
 
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xRYD3Rx said:
This requires a credit check???????
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Of course it does. It's a 24 month personal loan financed through a Bank. Citizens Bank, if I'm recalling what I read correctly.

Does anyone think Apple is going to hand you a ~$900 device and have you pinky promise to make regular payments on it without first checking your credit worthiness? LOL
 
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One thing to note. We're not sure what specific models/SKUs will be available at launch and whether or not the unlocked iPhone via the iPhone Upgrade Program will be the same as the Verizon or AT&T model or if it could possible be a "world" version with both LTE 30 and CDMA Rev A.

There's no SIM-free/unlocked version available on the website at launch although you can buy "carrier" versions full price. That's one reason I'd consider buying through the upgrade program. I get AC+ for my devices anyway.
 
chocoyo00 said:
I'm in for the Upgrade Program, but here's my concern: since you have to actually come in to the retail store to do this program, how fast will the "buy reservations" fill in on launch day/weekend? Are there going to be separate steps during the ordering process? Pre-order delivery times fall to weeks quickly during the first minutes, so I'm worried that if I don't secure a reservation and then try to buy full price I might not get it at launch day, unless I make the trip to the store and wait hours ... I guess this only matters if you're picky about getting your phone at launch day. Anyone thinking about this?
Click to expand...
Seems like paying in full it's the better option to get the newest iPhone, otherwise expect to have your phone delayed, term says you have yo pay at least 12 full payments, what if the next iphone comes out on your 11th payment?
 
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rui no onna said:
One thing to note. We're not sure what specific models/SKUs will be available at launch and whether or not the unlocked iPhone via the iPhone Upgrade Program will be the same as the Verizon or AT&T model or if it could possible be a "world" version with both LTE 30 and CDMA Rev A.

There's no SIM-free/unlocked version available on the website at launch although you can buy "carrier" versions full price. That's one reason I'd consider buying through the upgrade program. I get AC+ for my devices anyway.
Click to expand...

It's not a special phone. It's whichever of the available versions you want to get, unlocked.
 
After reading every post in this thread I came up with conclusion for myself.

I am buying the 6s OR still deciding to get the 6 maybe for full price. Will upgrade to 7 next year anyway.

Never really needed an apple care + anyway.

Coming from 5s.
 
Azzin said:
Not just America, we have the same in the UK. :(
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I see it this way. If you are relying solely on financing to afford a phone then you should not be buying a new phone every year. You should pay off your phone and keep it a couple of years.
Christian 5G said:
After reading every post in this thread I came up with conclusion for myself.

I am buying the 6s OR still deciding to get the 6 maybe for full price. Will upgrade to 7 next year anyway.

Never really needed an apple care + anyway.

Coming from 5s.
Click to expand...
 
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flur said:
It's not a special phone. It's whichever of the available versions you want to get, unlocked.
Click to expand...
That's just the thing.

The Verizon and AT&T/T-Mobile iPhone 5s/5c were pretty much the same model. The only difference is Apple disabled CDMA radio on the AT&T/T-Mobile 5s/5c.

With the iPhone 6(+), the Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile models are exactly the same, it was the Sprint model that had the 4 extra TDD LTE bands.

Now we don't know for sure whether the AT&T version of the 6s(+) even has a CDMA radio or not and Apple just didn't put it in the specs, or if it has the CDMA radio disabled or something. From the iPhone Upgrade Program webpage, it suggests folks will be able to switch carriers as they like. There are a couple of options Apple can take. We get the Verizon version unlocked without LTE 30, or we get the AT&T version unlocked with LTE 30 *and* CDMA radio enabled. Right now, no one knows.

The best way to own iPhone.
The iPhone Upgrade Program gives you an easier way to get a new iPhone every year, and the security and protection of AppleCare+. You’re even free to choose the carrier and rate plan that work for you.

  • Get a new iPhone every year
  • Unlocked — choose your carrier
  • Low monthly payments
  • iPhone protection with AppleCare

You can choose your carrier.
Because the iPhone Upgrade Program isn’t tied to a single carrier, you don’t need a multiyear service contract. If you don’t have any carrier commitments, you’re free to select a new carrier or stick with the one you have. A Specialist can answer questions and help you set your iPhone up the way you like.
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I'll see if I can get some help on this. I have a Verizon 5. They have offered a $200 trade-in if I upgrade using their program. If I upgrade from them I can go subsidized, or pay monthly and can only upgrade on the monthly plan after the entire phone is paid for. I'm assuming that all these plans will end up costing pretty much the same. If I upgrade with Apple will I be paying them separately each month? And I assume I will have to sell my current phone on my own? I spend a lot of time on the water, and having Applecare+ would be useful because of the possibility of water damage, so my inclination is to go with the Apple upgrade program. Also, is it true you can only do the Apple upgrade in an Apple store? Anyone have any insight into this? Minor differences in cost are not that important to me (like state taxes)....
 
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rui no onna said:
That's just the thing.

The Verizon and AT&T/T-Mobile iPhone 5s/5c were pretty much the same model. The only difference is Apple disabled CDMA radio on the AT&T/T-Mobile 5s/5c.

With the iPhone 6(+), the Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile models are exactly the same, it was the Sprint model that had the 4 extra TDD LTE bands.

Now we don't know for sure whether the AT&T version of the 6s(+) even has a CDMA radio or not and Apple just didn't put it in the specs, or if it has the CDMA radio disabled or something. From the iPhone Upgrade Program webpage, it suggests folks will be able to switch carriers as they like. There are a couple of options Apple can take. We get the Verizon version unlocked without LTE 30, or we get the AT&T version unlocked with LTE 30 *and* CDMA radio enabled. Right now, no one knows.
Click to expand...

I for one, would like some confirmation on this as well. Anyone else have any ideas?
 
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