Well said there. I have no clue why such basic concept is hard to grasp. If you haven’t paid your own money in full, it’s not yours. As simple as that.
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iUP vs buying outright.
- Thread starter Eggtastic
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Well said there. I have no clue why such basic concept is hard to grasp. If you haven’t paid your own money in full, it’s not yours. As simple as that.
It depends on whether apple or the bank have secured the loan on the phone. If yes, then it’s not yours till you pay it back. If not, the phone is yours and if you don’t pay they take you to court / repossess items of equivalent value etc.
In the UK it’s not a secured loan as shown from the consequences of non payment terms as below. This means the phone is yours as failure to pay does not result in immediate repossession of the item:
It depends on whether apple or the bank have secured the loan on the phone. If yes, then it’s not yours till you pay it back. If not, the phone is yours and if you don’t pay they take you to court / repossess items of equivalent value etc.
In the UK it’s not a secured loan as shown from the consequences of non payment terms as below. This means the phone is yours as failure to pay does not result in immediate repossession of the item:
All that depends on the valuation of the total cost as well. Technically if I’m not paying my own money in full then I consider it to be not mine until I pay it off.
I bolded the pertinent parts for all of you financial experts.
I look into this often but so far wouldn’t save enough to make it worth it. I end up at 90 for my wife and I and we share 6gb.
okay guys, rather than keep debating the true financial definition of owning a device, can we get back on topic please. i'm currently a T-Mobile user, i want to join the IUP for the first time, but Apple requires T-Mobile users to go to store to sign up for IUP after the release day if you're 1st timers. that's why i'm getting a cheap Verizon data plan today just so i can preorder via Apple IUP this Friday morning and then cancel the VZ plan after i receive the phone. i don't like paying stuff over time except the ones i absolutely have to (house and cars). i've always bought my phones outright since the 6 Plus on, and ended up either trade them in to carrier as part of new phone upgrade promotions or selling them to local cellphone repair shop for less than half of the price i paid after 1-2 years. i decided to give IUP a try with the X because with all the new techs X comes with, there may have some first gen bugs and kinks to be worked out just like first model year cars after a redesign. IUP in this case is the perfect way to hedge toward a new and improved 2nd gen X while enjoying the 1st gen at the same time.
"Apple themselves is not a bank"
Oh, too funny. Apple has over $257 BILLION cash on hand. How many actual banks have that much?
With the way they manage their money, Apple is a better bank than a technology company. And they are a fantastic technology company.
Oh, too funny. Apple has over $257 BILLION cash on hand. How many actual banks have that much?
With the way they manage their money, Apple is a better bank than a technology company. And they are a fantastic technology company.
They’re still not a bank. Just having money doesn’t make a bank. There are other aspects to the system. ♂️
I buy outright and then i have no monthly payments to worry about. The phone is mine from the start and if I want to leave Apple and buy a different phone then I can. If you are tied in to the upgrade programme, you have to pay Apple the outstanding balance or continue to make the payments until the phone is paid off. You do not own the phone until it is fully paid off.
The other thing is that if people upgrade to the 'X' and the 2018 flagship phone comes out in September, I don't believe you can upgrade to the new phone until you have made 12 payments on the 'X"
The other thing is that if people upgrade to the 'X' and the 2018 flagship phone comes out in September, I don't believe you can upgrade to the new phone until you have made 12 payments on the 'X"
Try this. Lease a car. Try and sell it before the lease is done.
Buy a phone using IUP. Try and sell the phone before the payment plan is finished.
You cannot sell the car (because of the lien on the specific property).
You can sell the phone. (You will still have to make payments back to the bank (Citizens) until the balance is zero), but since the interest is 0%, there is actually a benefit to get the product now, and pay the balance over time. The only negatives are the mandatory AppleCare+ (if you weren't going to purchase it anyway), and the potential credit hit (minimal in most cases).
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You can do the same with IUP. All you have to do is pay off the remainder of the money owed. The only difference is the timing of the money. The dollars paid are exactly the same. (Assuming you purchased AppleCare+).
One difference that just came to mind though. If you purchase outright (along with AppleCare+) and sell your phone at the 12 month mark, you would have to request a refund of the second year of AppleCare+. With the IUP, it is automatic and you are only charged for the 12 months of AppleCare+
Buy a phone using IUP. Try and sell the phone before the payment plan is finished.
You cannot sell the car (because of the lien on the specific property).
You can sell the phone. (You will still have to make payments back to the bank (Citizens) until the balance is zero), but since the interest is 0%, there is actually a benefit to get the product now, and pay the balance over time. The only negatives are the mandatory AppleCare+ (if you weren't going to purchase it anyway), and the potential credit hit (minimal in most cases).
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You can do the same with IUP. All you have to do is pay off the remainder of the money owed. The only difference is the timing of the money. The dollars paid are exactly the same. (Assuming you purchased AppleCare+).
One difference that just came to mind though. If you purchase outright (along with AppleCare+) and sell your phone at the 12 month mark, you would have to request a refund of the second year of AppleCare+. With the IUP, it is automatic and you are only charged for the 12 months of AppleCare+
Besides iUP, Apple also offers a basic payment plan that has the same 0% financing with Citizens Bank.
The basic plan is just the monthly payments for 24 months; it doesn’t have either AppleCare+ or upgrade option.
For the $999 iphone X, it’ll cost you $49.91/mo with iUP and $41.62/mo with basic plan. The cost difference of $8.92/mo is due to AppleCare.
£999 IPhone X in the UK is £56.45 per month. Why the difference in price? I realise it’s £1=$1 but surely the maths should be the same? 999+199 for applecare+
In the US there is no taxation shown in the price until point of purchase, So it's not $999, It's $999 + Sales tax (Unless you live in a state with no sales tax). Whereas in the UK you have the price including the VAT. So it's £999 final.
I don’t mean that though - why are the monthly payments *less* for US IUP vs UK ones?
Because they don't include sales tax. The price that they show in the US does not include sales tax till time of purchase which is the complete opposite of the UK. If you're told you're paying £40 a month for a phone contract, then it is simply that. In the US if you're told you're paying $40 per month, it's $40 + Sales tax.
IMO it only makes sense if you are fairly certain you will upgrade every year. I ran the numbers on what my 6S+ cost me over 25 months and it came out to $25/month. That’s based on what I paid for the phone ($930) less what I could trade it in for to Verizon ($290.) I’m guessing a 64GB X will cost $30/month over the same period. With IUP you’re essentially locking yourself into paying $48-50 a month for as long as you stay on the program. Buying outright you have more flexibility to decide whether it makes sense to upgrade when the new iphone is announced.
TLDR - Be honest with yourself and decide if spending an extra $250-300 per year is really worth it to get the new flagship iphone every 12 months. Apple offers the program because it results in more new high-margin iPhones being sold every year.
TLDR - Be honest with yourself and decide if spending an extra $250-300 per year is really worth it to get the new flagship iphone every 12 months. Apple offers the program because it results in more new high-margin iPhones being sold every year.
What’s the upfront payment US vs UK?
I get your point that currency conversion and sales tax shouldn’t matter.
Humor, friend. But, they aren't primarily a technology company any more, either. What's their fastest growing business? Hint: it's not the iPhone.
And they do Apple Pay. Just wait until the use some of that massive cash pile to launch their own credit card. What's a "bank" today, anyway? Lines are getting more blurry all the time.
IMO, the only variable with this plan that affects cost is that it requires AppleCare+.
If the $930 you paid for your iPhone 6S+ two-years ago included AppleCare+, the numbers you ran above should be exactly the same if you had used this program to buy the phone.
$930 paid in one huge-ass payment = $930.
$930 paid over 24 months = $930.
and you can still trade in the phone to Verizon for that credit...
No, I’ve never bought Apple Care. I don’t get the argument that you can buy the phone outright at any time. That defeats the purpose of going with IUP in the first place. The whole pitch with IUP is that you get the latest iPhone every year without the hassle of selling/trading in your old phone. I see very little discussion here about how expensive it is to upgrade your iPhone every year. Instead, everybody wants to talk about the fact that you’re not paying any interest and therefore it must be a great deal.
The carriers had IUP-like plans out a few years before Apple did. Those plans were the only way to buy a new smartphone and make monthly payments. The "pitch" of those programs was also to upgrade yearly, but that was an option, not a requirement.
Anyhow, I think a good number of folks familiar with how the carriers plans worked switch into Apple's IUP, and despite the pitch, use it to simulate how the old 2-year contracts worked... (i.e. make 24 payments and then trade their old phone in somewhere for a credit, then buy a new smartphone).
The only thing negative about it is the hard pull. Otherwise there is nothing negative about it if you want the AC+.
You can own the phone if you get it through the AiUP and don't trade it in and pay it off instead.
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Yes of course. You always have the option of paying off the loan in full and then owning the phone outright.