It is if you pay attention to how much data you ACTUALLY use. Like I said previously, I would be /shocked/ if people actually use as much data as necessary to make the unlimited plans worth it.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Trying to decide between Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program vs. AT&T 2yr Subsidy pricing
- Thread starter melman101
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It is if you pay attention to how much data you ACTUALLY use. Like I said previously, I would be /shocked/ if people actually use as much data as necessary to make the unlimited plans worth it.
Today sure, but can you say that about 2, 5, or 10 years down the road?
That far down the road this conversation will be pointless as they will not offer subsidized phones anymore.
$25/mo * 12 * 5 = $1500 for what /might/ be an issue 5 years down the road? No thanks.
I'm confident that the data plans will keep up with data needs.
I think our bill is $195 for 3 iPhones - 700 minutes (but we have like 5000 rollover minutes), unlimited text, unlimited data for 2 lines.
I was having trouble seeing a Mobile Share plan that would equate to that, and also give me the same amount of data needed.
Granted $25 per line discount may make a huge difference for $75 dollar discount if all three phones are off contract.
I was having trouble seeing a Mobile Share plan that would equate to that, and also give me the same amount of data needed.
Granted $25 per line discount may make a huge difference for $75 dollar discount if all three phones are off contract.
OK. That makes more sense to me. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I've looked at every vendor with data caps and other options and I just can't beat the deal.
Best case scenario you could get them to give you 30gb for the price of 25gb, which would be $205 plus tax plus any device payments. I'd stick with what you have. I'd also take advantage of as many subsidies as you can get!
My bill for two iPhones and an iPad with 30GB of data, unlimited talk and text is $146 including taxes.
Got in on the double data promotion that they did last year. I'm sure with some encouragement, they would do that again for anybody that asks.
I'm at $94.80 for 10gb with 2 lines. Still trying to get it lower. But 10gb is way more than we use.
Data prices continue to fall as technology and competition drives the market. If you're paying a premium to bet against that direction, it may not be a wise decision.
Thanks kev, I really appreciate it. As you can tell this is definitely a hard choice. What are you going with?
Unlimited has gotten more and more expensive, from those who still offer it. I'd rather pay $67/mo for unlimited than to worry about what I have per month.
To make things more confusing, I ran the numbers on AT&T and if a person only needed a 2GB/mo plan then they would actually end up paying about $60 more over the course of 2 years by buying the phone outright versus signing a 2 year contract and subsidizing the phone. So what should save a person considerable money ends up actually costing them a little more.
iPhone 6S 64GB on 2 year contract: $70/mo service plus $344.99 upfront = $2024.99 over 2 years
iPhone 6S 64GB contract-free: $55/mo service plus $764.99 upfront = $2084.99 over 2 years
And for me personally, I currently only pay $65/mo for my subsidized iPhone 6, after $344.99 upfront 12 months ago. Any way I slice it, my next phone would end up costing me more per month on AT&T.
Well, I gave up my unlimited plan last year and went to mobile share. I use tethering quite a bit and have my iPad and Laptop that need data as well, having individual data plans for each device became too costly when no one device needed that much data, I was only using about 2gb a month on my primary device. So I finally switched over to their Mobile Share plan and I'm glad I did. It's nice knowing my iPad is only $10 /month, laptop is easy to add and we all pull from the same data pool and everyone has tethering if they need it. I find it much simpler to manage and more cost effective for my scenario. AT&T also has had promotions on their plans where I'm now at 20gb data allotment per month and I'm paying less than I was with every device on individual plans. Also, since I never use that much, probably around 5gb/month now, the extra rolls over to the next month. So I actually have about 35gb I can use this month if needed.
I typically always just purchase my phones. I haven't gotten to the point of not wanting to deal with craigslist or ebay just yet, but honestly I use Swappa now for all phone sales, it's a great site. I bought my last 6 plus for about 1050 and sold it for 800, so it cost me $250 to own it for a year. That's cheaper than any other option at this point and will probably do the same for the foreseeable future. On Mobile Share, you get charged $40/month for a device under 2 year contract or $15 if the device is out of contract, so the price penalty makes buying a phone on contract using Mobile Share out of the question. That's why they are doing next, they just came up with a different way of locking you into a 2 year agreement without having to pay Apple for part of your phone.
By the time the 7 comes out, I'll probably move over to the iPhone Upgrade Program. I do think it's a great plan and I like that Apple is in control of it and not any carrier, but I need a launch day phone or I'm not going to be happy
and the IUP being in store only for launch phones makes it difficult to do out of the gate.I like using the 2-year contract. I have 2 iPhone unlimited plans and they are 1 year apart so every year one of my phones are eligible for upgrade. Now that AT&T raised the unlimited cap to 22gb and Family Talk voice to unlimited I would be crazy to switch to mobile share. I only pay $140 for all the above with no plans to add another line. And no I don't need tethering. Sure I lose the convenience of ordering from Apple but my local AT&T store always has new phones in stock on release day. As I get the new phone, I passed the older one down to my son, and the extra phone is sold off to cover the cost of the first phone.
I know its been mentioned but it really does depend on your plan to see if the subsidy is worth it. In my case, the 2 yr contract was worth it as I have the 5GB plan.
2 year ATT:
iphone 6S 64GB w/ PA tax 316.94$ + (50$ 5GB plan + 40$ line fee) x 24 months = 2476.94$ (no upgrade fee with FAN discount and FAN basically covers other line fees and taxes)
outright 64GB 6S phone:
793.94$ (w/ taxes) + (50$ plan + 25$ line fee) X 24 months = 2593.94$
117$ savings in the long run. I guess it comes down to how much money you want out of pocket up front vs your monthly budget vs your desire to switch carriers. For me, ATT is the best option around here so figure that it is worth staying for the next 2 years.
For OP its different because he has more lines and if he doesn't want to sell the phone himself and likes the ability to get a new phone each year and switch carriers, then the premium is worth it on the apple program.
PS I think that all the time and effort I put into researching the best deal on this phone, I probably could have made the extra money some how and not even think about it lol.
2 year ATT:
iphone 6S 64GB w/ PA tax 316.94$ + (50$ 5GB plan + 40$ line fee) x 24 months = 2476.94$ (no upgrade fee with FAN discount and FAN basically covers other line fees and taxes)
outright 64GB 6S phone:
793.94$ (w/ taxes) + (50$ plan + 25$ line fee) X 24 months = 2593.94$
117$ savings in the long run. I guess it comes down to how much money you want out of pocket up front vs your monthly budget vs your desire to switch carriers. For me, ATT is the best option around here so figure that it is worth staying for the next 2 years.
For OP its different because he has more lines and if he doesn't want to sell the phone himself and likes the ability to get a new phone each year and switch carriers, then the premium is worth it on the apple program.
PS I think that all the time and effort I put into researching the best deal on this phone, I probably could have made the extra money some how and not even think about it lol.