Remember when a new iPhone was $199

[krause734]

The service providers are no longer subsidizing iPhones and building it into the monthly plan. The monthly plans haven't come down much either. Seriously looking at MVNO's. I am wondering how many other people will do the same. I got my iPhone 7 for $199 last year but Verizon no longer offers subsidized pricing. They at least provide monthly payment plans. Currently paying $60 (65) for 2GB/Unlimited talk/text. Verizon is the only company that works in rural areas otherwise I would have jumped ship sooner.

 

[joeblow7777]

A new iPhone was never really $199. The full price was just slowly taken from you during the course of the contract.

 

[willmtaylor]

A new iPhone was never really $199. The full price was just slowly taken from you during the course of the contract.

The full price AND THEN SOME in most instances.

 

[eyoungren]

A new iPhone was never really $199. The full price was just slowly taken from you during the course of the contract.

The full price AND THEN SOME in most instances.

Yep. The subsidy of the phone was built into the plan. So, don't upgrade every two years and you continue to pay for a device that's already paid for.

I do not lament the death of subsidies. It means the price of my plan has gone down.

 

[willmtaylor]

The service providers are no longer subsidizing iPhones and building it into the monthly plan. The monthly plans haven't come down much either. Seriously looking at MVNO's. I am wondering how many other people will do the same. I got my iPhone 7 for $199 last year but Verizon no longer offers subsidized pricing. They at least provide monthly payment plans. Currently paying $60 (65) for 2GB/Unlimited talk/text. Verizon is the only company that works in rural areas otherwise I would have jumped ship sooner.

TBH, if you look at the value proposition, while the monthly plan charges may not have come down (though mine have), what you get for that amount has most certainly increased. I used to have to pay per text sent AND received!

 

[eyoungren]

The service providers are no longer subsidizing iPhones and building it into the monthly plan. The monthly plans haven't come down much either. Seriously looking at MVNO's. I am wondering how many other people will do the same. I got my iPhone 7 for $199 last year but Verizon no longer offers subsidized pricing. They at least provide monthly payment plans. Currently paying $60 (65) for 2GB/Unlimited talk/text. Verizon is the only company that works in rural areas otherwise I would have jumped ship sooner.

Subsidies were never so great for me.

My last subsidy (iPhone 5) cost me $500 up front. The one before that was $250.

My plan never went down either when I was done paying them off after two years.

And MVNOs are not a consideration for me. They may have deals, but my data is prioritized below the customers of the network the MVNO uses and they have much more restrictive plans. No way would I get from say, MetroPCS what I currently get from T-Mobile.

 

[Dwalls90]

As others have said, the full price of the iPhone has always started at 649 retail.

It wasn't until the 6 Plus that started at 749, the 8 that started at 699 and the X that starts at 999 that we've seen these price "increases"

EDIT: A tubeexperience corrected me, the iPhone was $599. The "entry level" price for the iPhone remained $599 until the iPhone 4S, at which point it rose to $649.

So it actually appears that Apple raises the price of the iPhone by $50 about 5th new model

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

Yep. The subsidy of the phone was built into the plan. So, don't upgrade every two years and you continue to pay for a device that's already paid for.

I do not lament the death of subsidies. It means the price of my plan has gone down.

No it hasn’t. I pay the same monthly. Get a $20 price break off my plan. And I pay $40 more for my phone. So I actually pay $20 more a month than when the phones were only $199 every two years.

I keep driving this point. The providers are giving everyone $20-$25 discounts on their plans. But once you add the phone price back into your plan. Your monthly bill is more than what you paid for before. lol

 

[eyoungren]

No it hasn’t. I pay the same monthly. Get a $20 price break off my plan. And I pay $40 more for my phone. So I actually pay $20 more a month than when the phones were only $199 every two years.

I keep driving this point. The providers are giving everyone $20-$25 discounts on their plans. But once you add the phone price back into your plan. It’s more than what you paid before. lol

I was on Sprint for 16 years.

I guarantee you that until about 2014 I was paying a subsidized price two years after a contract had ended.

Sprint only started knocking $25 a month off in late 2014 when they first killed contracts.

 

[krause734]

It may not have been cheaper, but it was a good psychological marketing strategy to get people to renew a 2 year contract and get a new phone. I think people will be hanging on to their phones much longer now and that is exactly what Apple does NOT want.

 

[576316]

I remember the iPhone 4 costing me £529 directly from the Apple Store...those were the days.

 

[willmtaylor]

It may not have been cheaper, but it was a good psychological marketing strategy to get people to renew a 2 year contract and get a new phone. I think people will be hanging on to their phones much longer now and that is exactly what Apple does NOT want.

Nah, they have folks hooked on annual upgrades now, so many folks who can’t do math or don’t care are more or less leasing their devices.

 

[lsutigerfan1976]

I was on Sprint for 16 years.

I guarantee you that until about 2014 I was paying a subsidized price after two years.

Sprint only started knocking $25 a month off in late 2014 when they first killed contracts.

But what are you paying to finance your phone? If you get a $25 price break. And finance a phone for $40 a month. That is not less than before. Which is what I try to tell ppl. lol

 

[matty.p]

Nah, they have folks hooked on annual upgrades now, so many folks who can’t do math or don’t care are more or less leasing their devices.

It's not technically a lease, it's more like a layaway or 0% installment as you are technically paying towards the cost of the phone. A lease doesn't build equity in the product itself.

 

[tubeexperience]

As others have said, the full price of the iPhone has always started at 649 retail.

It wasn't until the 6 Plus that started at 749, the 8 that started at 699 and the X that starts at 999 that we've seen these price "increases"

Wrong. It was $599.

 

[willmtaylor]

It's not technically a lease, it's more like a layaway or 0% installment as you are technically paying towards the cost of the phone. A lease doesn't build equity in the product itself.

Yeah, which is why I said more or less.

 

[reallynotnick]

Yeah somehow I managed to swing the iPhone 8 with a 2 year contract on Sprint for $250, but I'm afraid that's the last subsidized phone I'll ever get. The plan prices haven't really dropped in price compared to what it used to be so I've been sticking on an old unlimited plan and the only thing I'm missing is tethering and unlimited minutes, meh.

 

[willmtaylor]

Wrong. It was $599.

Sure but that was also WITH a 2-year contract.

 

[thislsmadness]

Nah, they have folks hooked on annual upgrades now, so many folks who can’t do math or don’t care are more or less leasing their devices.

So what is the hidden "gotcha" with these plans? I was considering getting the X using one of these installment plans. It seems like its just the price of the phone split out over 24 months with 0% interest, on the surface that doesn't seem unfair?

 

[matty.p]

So what is the hidden "gotcha" with these plans? I was considering getting the X using one of these installment plans. It seems like its just the price of the phone split out over 24 months with 0% interest, on the surface that doesn't seem unfair?

The gotcha is just that they didn't reduce the cost of the cell phone plan by the same amount that subsidy used to be, so they get a bit more money out of you. That's the 'gotcha.' it's because they used to keep collecting the money from customers well after they paid off their phones. Think of customers that had upgrades on their accounts that just sat there. They were paying far higher bills each month, but weren't getting the benefits of a cheaper new phone. Essentially the cell phone companies were making money for nothing.

 

[iapplelove]

I've been on the same AT&T iPhone unlimited plan since 2008. I get a 23% discount through my employer but it's still gone up 10 bucks.

I didn't feel I was paying extra even when I bought my phones out right. Maybe I was wrong?

 

[eyoungren]

It may not have been cheaper, but it was a good psychological marketing strategy to get people to renew a 2 year contract and get a new phone. I think people will be hanging on to their phones much longer now and that is exactly what Apple does NOT want.

Combine this with Sprint's draconian unlock policy which did not change until February 2015 and you had total lock in.

What's interesting to note now though is the carrier response by creating international options to your service plan. Sprint now refuses to international unlock a leased or EIP phone because of the international options they offer in their plans. And T-Mobile has recently started to enforce their own unlock policies.

 

[thislsmadness]

The gotcha is just that they didn't reduce the cost of the cell phone plan by the same amount that subsidy used to be, so they get a bit more money out of you. That's the 'gotcha.' it's because they used to keep collecting the money from customers well after they paid off their phones. Think of customers that had upgrades on their accounts that just sat there. They were paying far higher bills each month, but weren't getting the benefits of a cheaper new phone. Essentially the cell phone companies were making money for nothing.

Ah, yeah I'm aware of that. I recall having to call and get that straightened out for my mom long ago. Thats not really what I'm referring to though. I'm curious about whether there is any hidden cost to these new 24 month installment plans or if its really just the cost of the phone.

 

[44267547]

It may not have been cheaper, but it was a good psychological marketing strategy to get people to renew a 2 year contract and get a new phone. I think people will be hanging on to their phones much longer now and that is exactly what Apple does NOT want.

I somewhat disagree. With carriers providing promotional discounts and trade in incentives annually, they are half the reason assisting/provoking the user to upgrade their iPhone. So there are other ways for those who want an iPhone to do so and consciously, they think it's much cheaper to go that specific route to get what they want.

 

[Menel]

No it hasn’t. I pay the same monthly. Get a $20 price break off my plan. And I pay $40 more for my phone. So I actually pay $20 more a month than when the phones were only $199 every two years.

I keep driving this point. The providers are giving everyone $20-$25 discounts on their plans. But once you add the phone price back into your plan. Your monthly bill is more than what you paid for before. lol

Stop financing tech widgets. Its insanity.