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Barclays partner finance is great yes however if you're looking to fund through that not via the upgrade program then there is an interest rate be aware it's something like 14.9%
To be fair that's a decent option. The phone that I want works out at less than £23 a month (2 years). My current contract with 02 has gone from regularly being £44 a month to just £20.

It's a serious option for some, probably still less than being a network.
 
TLDR; if you're serious about having iPhone long term, and want to upgrade every year, the upgrade programme is slightly better value. Plus gets you Applecare+.

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There is another way of looking at this longer-term. Let's say, like me, you want the iPhone 7 128GB.

CREDIT CARD:

You buy it outright on a 0% credit card for £699. No Applecare. You pay off at £58.25 per month before you want to upgrade this time next year.

You then sell the iPhone 7 for £400, and purchase the iPhone 7S for £699 (assuming prices stay the same for the sake of this example). Everything included, you've got a new iPhone til Sept 2018 and you're £998 down.

UPGRADE PROGRAMME:

You pay £45 up front and then £38.45 for 11 months. That's £467.95. Includes Applecare+. You then choose to upgrade to the iPhone 7S which costs another £45. You'll then have another 12 payments (including your September one) through to the next upgrade, worth £506.45. This also takes you through to Sept 2018 with a new iPhone. This time, though, you're only £974.35 down.

This cycle would continue until you wanted to opt out of having an iPhone. When - actually, if - this happened you'd be far better off owning your iPhone and selling it to opt out. Because with the upgrade programme, you'd have to wait a further 8 months before you own the phone.

If you think you'll be sticking with iPhone for some time, though, it looks like the upgrade programme is probably worth it. Particularly if you want the added benefit of Applecare+. I worked this out pretty quickly, so do please let me know if I've taken any arithmetical wrong turns.

With the credit card you are £998 down but own the 2017 iPhone. With the upgrade programme you would only own the 2017 iPhone if you paid an extra £307 (£1281). That's a lot to pay for AppleCare+.
 
First post here, but wanted to share this that I made to help me decide between Apple's upgrade programme, and just buying/selling on Mazuma, etc.

This is essentially for people concerned about the cost of upgrading in the long-term, rather than short-term.

N38eA1r.png


*Based on entry model iPhone 7. iPhone 8 price based on current iPhone 7 cost. iPhone 7 resale price based on current iPhone 6s recycle profit via Mazuma Mobile.
 
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First post here, but wanted to share this that I made to help me decide between Apple's upgrade programme, and just buying/selling on Mazuma, etc.

This is essentially for people concerned about the cost of upgrading in the long-term, rather than short-term.

N38eA1r.png


*Based on entry model iPhone 7. iPhone 8 price based on current iPhone 7 cost. iPhone 7 resale price based on current iPhone 6s recycle profit via Mazuma Mobile.
So what did you decide
 
Buying the full thing upfront, and selling once the iPhone 8 is announced. I'm only concerned about the long-term cost, and Apple Care doesn't interest me. Mazuma accepts the iPhone 6s in any working condition, no less than quoted.
Semi starting to just want to do that too.... its just a faff for the upgrade program. I've always bought my iPhones outright and get them delivered on launch day
 
OK - but lets say tomorrow you want to use the programme - how do you select it?
Can you do it via the app for example?
 
OK - but lets say tomorrow you want to use the programme - how do you select it?
Can you do it via the app for example?
You can't. You have to show ID, etc at a retail store.

Edit: Apparently you can reserve online/via app tomorrow, and then go to a store and collect it.
 
You can't. You have to show ID, etc at a retail store.

Edit: Apparently you can reserve online/via app tomorrow, and then go to a store and collect it.
I asked on apple chat today. He said there will be link 'reserve to buy in store' Go through that and it will give you all the information re booking an appointment
 
Was speaking with an Apple advisor not long ago about the Upgrade Program. I'll post the transcript here, might help someone:

Me - Hi, I'm planning on buying an iPhone 7 Plus via the iPhone Upgrade Program, this will be my first time getting the Plus model and the Upgrade Program and so I'm wondering what would happen if I decided to return the 7 Plus (if it was too big for me) and opt to go for the regular 7?

Krzysztof:
A standard 14 day remorse period applies even if you buy through the Upgrade Programme - so you have the 14 days to change your mind

Me - Another question on that - If I returned the 7 Plus while on the Upgrade Program but within the 14 days remorse period, would I have to get the regular 7 on the Upgrade Program or could I buy that outright?

Krzysztof:
Yes, if you change your mind within the remorse period you will get a full refund, so you will be able either to buy the iPhone 7 outright
[doublepost=1473367906][/doublepost]Alright, I've decided what I'm going to do - I'm going to buy the regular 7 128gb outright because I know that size suits me and with the new improvements in the 7 anyway, it should fix my biggest issue of the 6s which was battery life hence a major reason why I wanted to go for the 7+ this time.

Once I have the regular 7 a few days, I'll visit an Apple Store to get hands on with the 7+ and find out how it feels for me. If it's too big then I've no harm done as I've already got the size which suits me. If it feels fine in my hand, it'll be a tougher decision on whether I will return the regular 7 and attempt to get the 7+ on the Upgrade Plan.
 
First post here, but wanted to share this that I made to help me decide between Apple's upgrade programme, and just buying/selling on Mazuma, etc.

This is essentially for people concerned about the cost of upgrading in the long-term, rather than short-term.

N38eA1r.png


*Based on entry model iPhone 7. iPhone 8 price based on current iPhone 7 cost. iPhone 7 resale price based on current iPhone 6s recycle profit via Mazuma Mobile.

Explained perfectly thank you.

£236.95 difference and no hassle of having to sell the phone, plus you get Apple Care? I think I'll jump on the Upgrade Program (I normally buy outright).
 
Explained perfectly thank you.

£236.95 difference and no hassle of having to sell the phone, plus you get Apple Care? I think I'll jump on the Upgrade Program (I normally buy outright).

Also, that presumes that you would opt out after 20 months. Let's face it, no one's likely to do that. If you look over a four year period, the upgrade programme ends up being £37 more than buying outright and upgrading each year (including Applecare+).

That's a very small price to pay for the lower monthly payments made in the first year, plus the hassle of having to sell your phone every year.
 
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First post here, but wanted to share this that I made to help me decide between Apple's upgrade programme, and just buying/selling on Mazuma, etc.

This is essentially for people concerned about the cost of upgrading in the long-term, rather than short-term.

N38eA1r.png


*Based on entry model iPhone 7. iPhone 8 price based on current iPhone 7 cost. iPhone 7 resale price based on current iPhone 6s recycle profit via Mazuma Mobile.

Your figures only work if you upgrade after 1 year and then keep the next one for 2 years. If you upgrade again after 1 year the cost is basically the same. You also forget that it is possible to buy out the loan at any point and as its interest free there is effectively no loss.
 
Hi guys!

Im in need of some assistance to make the right purchase decision tomorrow!

I want the 7 Plus 128GB. I will be paying off my O2 contract and selling my 6S Plus.

This leaves me with 3 options. Upgrade on O2 and get the ip7 with them, use apples 24 month finance (i wouldnt hand it back after 12 months i shouldnt think (is there a cost advantage to doing so?) as i normally upgrade on each 2 year generation) or finally i could just throw down the £800ish and own it outright and go for a cheap airtime solution to keep costs down.

Which would be the most financially advantageous over 24 months? I assume apple finance is going to be superior to O2 upgrade as itll get me away from network ties?

edit: also out of interest with the apple upgrade program, is it an upgrade after 12 months to the equivalent model in the range to what you hand back in?
 
If I went through the upgrade program I would save £6 a month off my bill including a sim only deal and be guaranteed a new phone every year. Pretty much a no brainer. Just need to sell my 6S so buy out my contract with O2.
 
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Hi guys!

Im in need of some assistance to make the right purchase decision tomorrow!

I want the 7 Plus 128GB. I will be paying off my O2 contract and selling my 6S Plus.

This leaves me with 3 options. Upgrade on O2 and get the ip7 with them, use apples 24 month finance (i wouldnt hand it back after 12 months i shouldnt think (is there a cost advantage to doing so?) as i normally upgrade on each 2 year generation) or finally i could just throw down the £800ish and own it outright and go for a cheap airtime solution to keep costs down.

Which would be the most financially advantageous over 24 months? I assume apple finance is going to be superior to O2 upgrade as itll get me away from network ties?

edit: also out of interest with the apple upgrade program, is it an upgrade after 12 months to the equivalent model in the range to what you hand back in?

Get the apple upgrade program which is interest free over 20 months and then get a sim only deal. On another tread i mentioned that I got crazy deal from EE where I pay £19 a month with 16gb data and obviously unlimited minutes ad texts.
 
Get the apple upgrade program which is interest free over 20 months and then get a sim only deal. On another tread i mentioned that I got crazy deal from EE where I pay £19 a month with 16gb data and obviously unlimited minutes ad texts.

awesome this is what i thought, is there any cons to taking the upgrade every 12 months? rather than holding it for the 20? and why isnt it 24 month finance so their 2 year customers end up renewing when the ip8 would be out?
 
Your figures only work if you upgrade after 1 year and then keep the next one for 2 years. If you upgrade again after 1 year the cost is basically the same. You also forget that it is possible to buy out the loan at any point and as its interest free there is effectively no loss.

If you're going to buy Apple Care regardless, then yes, there's no loss. But if you just need a phone to tie you over until the 8, then the alternative seems the better deal.
 
Barclays partner finance is great yes however if you're looking to fund through that not via the upgrade program then there is an interest rate be aware it's something like 14.9%

The Barclays Partner finance does normally have an interest rate but they've now launched "iPhone Payments" alongside the upgrade programme. This is exactly the same 0% 20 month instalment plan as the upgrade programme except it doesn't include AppleCare+ or the right to upgrade. So no interest to pay.

Further to some on here saying about AppleCare+ and how they don't want it, a few thoughts. Up until Wednesday I always said the same. It wasn't cost efficient. Based on a 6S Plus you were paying £119 insurance then if you broke your screen you were paying £79 to have it replaced or somewhere in the region of £150-200 (can't remember exactly) for an out of warranty replacement phone. This was against the non-AppleCare pricing of £126 and £256 respectively.

After Wednesday all that changed. AppleCare now has a £25 excess for screens and £79 for all other damage. That appears to include if you need a replacement phone. The non-AppleCare prices are now £146 for a screen and £306 for a replacement phone. This has made AppleCare+ much more attractive as an option BUT it is putting an extra £119 in Apple's pocket up front. However you only need one accident now to be severely out of pocket.
 
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