iPhone Upgrade Program vs Full Price Unlocked

[edlex]

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?

I made my reservation for a 6s+ 128gb at 9am saturday and got a 9/25 1pm appointment. No getting up at 3am edt this time! They will have plenty of stock specifically for program members due to how lucrative it is for Apple to not only sell you a full priced phone every year, but get back a 1 year old phone in the exchange. Not to mention the plus of forcing AC+ on you. It makes sense they would bend over backwards to make sure you get your phone every year.

 

[flur]

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)....

Yes, if you upgrade with Apple you pay them each month, separate from what you pay Verizon.

You will have to sell your phone on your own, and you will likely get more than $200 for it. Check out Swappa.

You can get Applecare+ regardless of whether your choose to go with Apple or VZ for your phone financing. With Apple, the cost of AC+ is rolled into the monthly charge. With VZ, you would pay the $129 for AC+ separately (you'd buy it from Apple via a one-time-fee), and your monthly payments would be slightly smaller because of it.

Right now, yes, you have to go in store to do the Apple Upgrade plan. That might change tho.

Both VZ and Apple are offering 0% financing, so either way the total cost is the same. The question is whether you want to pay for the AC+ upfront and have lower monthly fees or roll it into your financing. And of course you could go subsidized if that's still an option for you.

If you choose NOT to go subsidized, you might want to look at their new plans as that might save you a few bucks a month.

 

[wacomme]

Yes, if you upgrade with Apple you pay them each month, separate from what you pay Verizon.

You will have to sell your phone on your own, and you will likely get more than $200 for it. Check out Swappa.

You can get Applecare+ regardless of whether your choose to go with Apple or VZ for your phone financing. With Apple, the cost of AC+ is rolled into the monthly charge. With VZ, you would pay the $129 for AC+ separately (you'd buy it from Apple via a one-time-fee), and your monthly payments would be slightly smaller because of it.

Right now, yes, you have to go in store to do the Apple Upgrade plan. That might change tho.

Both VZ and Apple are offering 0% financing, so either way the total cost is the same. The question is whether you want to pay for the AC+ upfront and have lower monthly fees or roll it into your financing. And of course you could go subsidized if that's still an option for you.

If you choose NOT to go subsidized, you might want to look at their new plans as that might save you a few bucks a month.

I also have an iPhone 5 with Verizon - purchased 3 years ago with a contract. In my situation is there any advantage in not going subsidized for an iPhone 6s? My wife also has a 5, and she thinks we should just wait another year until the 7 comes out. We're just trying to figure out if the upgrade with worth the cost, and if so, what is the most cost effective option for upgrading.

 

[flur]

I also have an iPhone 5 with Verizon - purchased 3 years ago with a contract. In my situation is there any advantage in not going subsidized for an iPhone 6s? My wife also has a 5, and she thinks we should just wait another year until the 7 comes out. We're just trying to figure out if the upgrade with worth the cost, and if so, what is the most cost effective option for upgrading.

Ultimately that depends what plan you're on, and if switching plans is an option - if you have other subsidized phones on the plan, it might not be an option. If you are on one of the Everything plans (I think they called them More Everything or something like it), you should already be getting a $25 discount on your off-contract phone. If you get the 6s and go subsidized, you'll lose that discount and pay the subsidized cost of the phone upfront. So, say you're getting the 64gb 6s, which sells full price for $749 and subsidized for $299. That's a difference of $450. The loss of the $25 discount will cost you $600 over the two years of the contract, so buying unsubsidized will cost you less overall. If you buy unsubsidized but you finance the phone, you still pay less, but the monthly is higher as you pay nothing upfront.

Basically, for a 64gb 6s on an Everything plan:
Subsidized: $299 + ($25 x 24 months) = $899
Unsubsidized (financed or not): $749

That's just one example, of course. Some people are on a loyalty plan and won't save anything by buying unsubsidized. You'll need to look at your individual plan and what other phones are on it, and do the math.

Not upgrading is always the cheapest option. So from a financial perspective, your wife is correct.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I'm handing Apple my 6 Plus and paying for the 6S Plus outright. Whether it's locked to ATT or not makes no difference to me and I have yet to purchase AppleCare on any iPhone (I've owned almost every model since the original) so their installment plan appears to offer me no benefits...

 

[Cnasty]

I am still a little confused on this and wonder if I have to wait until next year to jump on this Apple Upgrade program.

I pre-ordered a 6s+ on pre-order night through ATT NEXT 24 month program. It is set to ship on 9/25.

Once I get the phone, am I too late to join this upgrade program to be able to upgrade every year?

 

[wacomme]

Ultimately that depends what plan you're on, and if switching plans is an option - if you have other subsidized phones on the plan, it might not be an option. If you are on one of the Everything plans (I think they called them More Everything or something like it), you should already be getting a $25 discount on your off-contract phone. If you get the 6s and go subsidized, you'll lose that discount and pay the subsidized cost of the phone upfront. So, say you're getting the 64gb 6s, which sells full price for $749 and subsidized for $299. That's a difference of $450. The loss of the $25 discount will cost you $600 over the two years of the contract, so buying unsubsidized will cost you less overall. If you buy unsubsidized but you finance the phone, you still pay less, but the monthly is higher as you pay nothing upfront.

Basically, for a 64gb 6s on an Everything plan:
Subsidized: $299 + ($25 x 24 months) = $899
Unsubsidized (financed or not): $749

That's just one example, of course. Some people are on a loyalty plan and won't save anything by buying unsubsidized. You'll need to look at your individual plan and what other phones are on it, and do the math.

Not upgrading is always the cheapest option. So from a financial perspective, your wife is correct.

Thanks for the explanation. My wife and I both have iPhone 5's, bought on the subsidized plan three years ago (I'll have to check to see if we're getting the $25 off-contract rate). It's interesting that the subsidized price is more expensive than the unsubsidized price. From reading this thread, it seems that more people are better off subsidized. Perhaps it's the loyalty plan; I'll have to check. We were new to Verizon from T-Mobile three years ago.

 

[flur]

Thanks for the explanation. My wife and I both have iPhone 5's, bought on the subsidized plan three years ago (I'll have to check to see if we're getting the $25 off-contract rate). It's interesting that the subsidized price is more expensive than the unsubsidized price. From reading this thread, it seems that more people are better off subsidized. Perhaps it's the loyalty plan; I'll have to check. We were new to Verizon from T-Mobile three years ago.

The $25-off is on the Everything plans. It should say something on your bill about a smartphone line for $40, and then give you a $25 credit. That should be there for each of the off-contract phones. If not, and you want to keep the plan, you can call them or go in-store and request they give you the credit.

 

[davidra]

Yes, if you upgrade with Apple you pay them each month, separate from what you pay Verizon.

You will have to sell your phone on your own, and you will likely get more than $200 for it. Check out Swappa.

You can get Applecare+ regardless of whether your choose to go with Apple or VZ for your phone financing. With Apple, the cost of AC+ is rolled into the monthly charge. With VZ, you would pay the $129 for AC+ separately (you'd buy it from Apple via a one-time-fee), and your monthly payments would be slightly smaller because of it.

Right now, yes, you have to go in store to do the Apple Upgrade plan. That might change tho.

Both VZ and Apple are offering 0% financing, so either way the total cost is the same. The question is whether you want to pay for the AC+ upfront and have lower monthly fees or roll it into your financing. And of course you could go subsidized if that's still an option for you.

If you choose NOT to go subsidized, you might want to look at their new plans as that might save you a few bucks a month.

Thanks. As far as I know I am eligible for a subsidized phone; I haven't really seen much of an advantage in getting one. Is there an obvious advantage I'm missing, especially since the phones appear to cost more in the long run.

 

[flur]

Thanks. As far as I know I am eligible for a subsidized phone; I haven't really seen much of an advantage in getting one. Is there an obvious advantage I'm missing, especially since the phones appear to cost more in the long run.

Unless you have unlimited data or one of the super-low-cost loyalty plans, I can't think of a good reason to keep subsidizing. With the way the costs net out, it seems like the one getting subsidies from the "subsidized" phones is Verizon.