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Next Gen iPhone = No Upgrade Price?

M

Mac In School

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 21, 2007
1,286
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Everyone rushed out to buy 3G iPhones last summer, and signed a 2-year contract in doing so.

If they release another one this summer, since you're in a 2-year contract, you're probably not going to be eligible for subsidized pricing on a new one. You got the lower price going from the EDGE iPhone to the 3G because the EDGE version didn't have a subsidized price.

I wonder if the Apple faithful realize this, and how they'll react when they find out.

So many of us are used to being able to run right out and buy the newest, latest, greatest Apple product as soon as it's released.

They *could* make an exception for existing iPhone users, but this would be way out of character for how mobile phone service providers have operated for years. But I'd plan on not being able to upgrade mid-contract at a subsidized price.
 
*checks ebay iphone prices*

Or they could just sell the old one and buy the new one unsubsidized.
 
Yeah, I kind of figured I was gonna be with this phone for 2 years.

But you're right, lots of people will complain. Hopefully Apple will have some answer for those folks, even if it costs a lot. The money doesn't matter for most of those people. Just so long as there's an official answer, the complaining will be mostly mitigated.
 
I will use my sister to sign up for ATT and buy the new phone, then after 30 days cancel and pay the ETF and keep the phone. Then sell my iphone 3g. This is asuming the next iphone has...mms,video,5mp camera,copy and paste, TBT directions, sms fowarding, sms deleting, sms counter etc, all the missing basic stuff.
 
eplchamps0304 said:
This is asuming the next iphone has...mms,video,5mp camera,copy and paste, TBT directions, sms fowarding, sms deleting, sms counter etc, all the missing basic stuff.
Click to expand...

Assuming it has any of those things, then most of them will be software updates available on the old phone, I'm sure.

I don't think the 2009 phone will be all that much different than the 2008. Just some slight spec enhancements. The most major changes will be software-based and released as updates for the old phone too.

Because MOST current owners won't pay to end their contract early, Apple won't be trying to attract them. It's hardly worth the effort. Instead, they'll just try to stay ahead of the competition to attract non-smartphone users.
 
Let's be honest, it's still a pretty good phone, and in all likelihood, the majority of the added benefits (other than extra capacity, better battery life etc) will be delivered through firmware upgrades, wouldn't you say? And therefore some of the biggest problems with the current iPhone, such as lack of video taking, lack of copy paste etc would be resolved anyway...
 
Some people will undoubtedly upgrade from the 3G, but this will likely be the exception, rather than the norm. There is also a small group of people who never upgraded to the 3G from the original iPhone. These people will likely upgrade. The average person with the 3G right now will not likely upgrade. The average user is not likely going to go through the hassle of selling their 3G on craigslist or ebay.

That leaves people who are still wanting their first iPhone. I wouldn't think there is a huge group of the general public who are waiting for the next generation iPhone to come out, but may be some. All in all, Apple may throw the current 3G users a bone, but highly unlikely.
 
kas23 said:
There is also a small group of people who never upgraded to the 3G from the original iPhone. These people will likely upgrade.
Click to expand...

Me! Me! Me!

I was originally just going to hold out for 32 GB, but now I'm thinking that, if they release a capacity bump (like they did with the first one), I may just wait to see what summer has in store.
 
Can't expect to upgrade for free

Is it any different than buying a laptop for $1500 and a new one coming out the following year? Any different from buying a 2008 car and a new model coming out in 2009?

You can't expect to buy a piece of equipment or electronics and there will be an endless free path to upgrades.


Pay to play.
 
northy014 said:
Let's be honest, it's still a pretty good phone, and in all likelihood, the majority of the added benefits (other than extra capacity, better battery life etc) will be delivered through firmware upgrades, wouldn't you say? And therefore some of the biggest problems with the current iPhone, such as lack of video taking, lack of copy paste etc would be resolved anyway...
Click to expand...

The big issue is the next upgrade won't be as big as the 3G upgrade. It can't be because of how much added speed the 3G connection gives people in the 3G areas. It's kind of like when Macs went to Intel CPUs. It's hard to top such a massive overhaul like that. I'm guessing the adoption of quad-core CPUs in the lower lines (Mac Pros already have about 800 cores) would be similar, especially if Snow Leopard does all it's supposed to.
 
Hmm. If this was the case, then why did I only have to pay $300 when I upgraded from my first gen iPhone to the iPhone 3G a year later?
 
Sorry everyone- ain't gonna happen. The reason phone companies subsidize phones and then make you sign up for a 2 year contract is because it then takes a while for the company to make back the money it cost them to subsidize the handset for the customer. When Apple released the 3G version they switched from the profit sharing model they had with the original iPhone to the more traditional model of At&t paying full price to apple and then subsidizing the phone. This is the reason why the original iPhone did not require a 2 year contract.

So, what benefit is it to At&t to let customers upgrade early and then subsidize yet another phone of them before they made their money off the first iPhone sale?

Looks like all you 3G owners are going to have either pay full price or wait it out until At&t lets you upgrade at the promo pricing.
 
I think Apple and AT&T will allow the subsidized price for current iPhone 3G owners just as they did when going from the original iPhone to the 3G. With the large number of 3G phones already sold and the number of loyal Apple owners, it would be dumb for Apple and AT&T to block such a large number of people from getting the new phone at a reasonable price. I guess we will have to see though.

Impatient said:
So, what benefit is it to At&t to let customers upgrade early and then subsidize yet another phone of them before they made their money off the first iPhone sale?
Click to expand...

If a 3G owner purchased in July of 08, the contract for them would be up in 2010. At that point the customer could leave for Verizon, T-Mobile or some other carrier. If they allow that 3G owner to get a subsidized iPhone again with a new 2 year contract, they now have that customer through 2011. This is a trend that can continue yearly with new iPhone releases. The whole point is that this KEEPS customers with AT&T and PREVENTS them from going to another carrier. With all the new customers AT&T has been getting with the iPhone it makes perfect sense to continue locking these customers up for years and years. Just by continuing to lock these customers up AT&T makes money.
 
uiop. said:
Hmm. If this was the case, then why did I only have to pay $300 when I upgraded from my first gen iPhone to the iPhone 3G a year later?
Click to expand...
Because AT&T didn't discount the price of your first gen iPhone like the did the price of your iPhone 3G. If you paid $299 for your iPhone 3G, that's because AT&T knocked $200 off. Without it, you would have paid $499 for your iPhone 3G.
 
Small White Car said:
Assuming it has any of those things, then most of them will be software updates available on the old phone, I'm sure.

I don't think the 2009 phone will be all that much different than the 2008. Just some slight spec enhancements. The most major changes will be software-based and released as updates for the old phone too.

Because MOST current owners won't pay to end their contract early, Apple won't be trying to attract them. It's hardly worth the effort. Instead, they'll just try to stay ahead of the competition to attract non-smartphone users.
Click to expand...

Probably true and this could suggest that Apple me switch to a 2-year major update cycle with a 1-year minor revision in between.
 
Unless the subsidy was over 12 months. Or you could get a pay to upgrade, and restart a new 18 month contract...
A brand new customers only scenario would cause potential havoc. O2 did enough of a mess last time by snubbing original iPhone users. (Remember the O2 website, registatrion, pre-order blues?)
 
misterpasta said:
Is it any different than buying a laptop for $1500 and a new one coming out the following year? Any different from buying a 2008 car and a new model coming out in 2009?

You can't expect to buy a piece of equipment or electronics and there will be an endless free path to upgrades.


Pay to play.
Click to expand...

That model isn't relevant with a subscription-based service. Cable companies are happy to hand you a HD DVR free of charge. But you'll pay every month, oh will you pay :p
 
kas23 said:
That leaves people who are still wanting their first iPhone. I wouldn't think there is a huge group of the general public who are waiting for the next generation iPhone to come out, but may be some.
Click to expand...

Well, I am one of many BlackBerry users who is waiting for the next iPhone before switching, my contract is up for renewal in July and I am hoping for two things: better battery life and better reception, I work in remote areas and my BB generally has a signal when iPhone users (same network) do not.
 
I suppose AT&T can extend your contract for another 2 years, giving you a total of 3 year contract. They then could honor this every time a contract has one year remaining. Assuming you upgraded under this policy you could not upgrade again until 2 years of the new 3 year contract was complete.

Basically this would allow you to "carry over" one year into a new 2 year contract. I think that would be fair and allow everyone to pay the correct amounts without the early ternimation tricks.
 
Why do people expect special treatment to buy the iPhone. It is standard industry practice that if you recieve a carrier discount phone, you will not be elligable for another discount until you fufil your contract terms.

We all know that the original iPhone was not discounted and that's why the original iPhone owners were elligable for the discount price on the iPhone 3g. Why is this even debated. Why would ATT subsidize your next iPhone when you have not completed you contract, and thus ATT has recouped their money back from you.
 
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