Other UK iPhone upgrade programme

[Mad4WDW]

Hi,

Could someone please explain in plain english how this works?

I normally buy my iPhone outright but this upgrade programme seems like a decent deal rather than parting with a ton of money up front.

What I want to know specifically is if I get a new phone now on this programme then want to swap it for the newest one next year how do they handle the trade in etc.

At 11 months I hand back the current phone then I sign a new contract/loan agreement for the new one and the new payments become new phone price+applecare/20 month with the upfront £69 payable?

Am I correct or way off with this. It seems pointless actually paying for the whole thing upfront if this is correct?

Can anyone cast some light??

TIA

 

[akash.nu]

Your interpretation is correct. It’s a no-brainer.

 

[robbieduncan]

Assuming you are happy paying for AppleCare+ you are spot on. Basically you are no-longer taking any risk on the value of a 11-12 month old iPhone which you would sell after paying full price up front. Generally you might expect to get a bit more than you are on the upgrade program (which is valuing your phone at 9/20 of it’s original value). I am on the upgrade program and happy with the trade off as it’s a pain finding the best value to sell it each year.

 

[Pez555]

You can also go the iPhone payments option which is cheaper but you lost the ability to trade it in for a new phone (unless you take apples trade in price).

I used to do the upgrade programme but phone recycling sites offer more than the remaining balance you’ll owe Barclays after 11 months, plus you will get 9 months of AppleCare refunded to you too .

 

[akash.nu]

You can also go the iPhone payments option which is cheaper but you lost the ability to trade it in for a new phone (unless you take apples trade in price).

I used to do the upgrade programme but phone recycling sites offer more than the remaining balance you’ll owe Barclays after 11 months, plus you will get 9 months of AppleCare refunded to you too .

Although this is true in the US with services like Swappa we don’t really have a service like that in the UK. So I stick to trade in value Apple provides because I can’t be bothered with dealing with people.

 

[Bethanie21]

I joined the iPhone Payments program for my 11 Pro, as like you, I didn’t particularly want to part with £1000 in one go (not that I don’t have £1000). Only thing is with Payments is you upgrade after two years. This is fine with me as that’s what I do anyway, regardless of how I pay for the phone. 0% interest on both plans is nice too.

 

[MrCookieMonster]

I’m just due my first upgrade on this program as always paid outright in the past, but this should take the hassle away from selling the phone.
Do people usually back up and ready the phone for sale before going to pick up the new one or do it in store? I think the US can mail the phone in which sounds way more convenient as I am not close to an Apple store.

 

[Mad4WDW]

Thanks for the info guys!

 

[TrueBlou]

I actually gave up on the IUP for my iPhone 11. I tried it out with the X, but ultimately I think I get better bang for my buck just buying them. This year for instance, I passed my iPhone X along to my wife, which is what I normally used to do, pass them along to friends and family, that way someone I know is getting the benefit of it. (Yes, my friends think I’m mental too ).

The good thing though, is that if you go with the IUP and at some point decide that its not for you, you just don’t trade-in after the first year and continue to pay it just as an interest-free loan. After the 24 months are up, you own the iPhone outright, just as you would with any other loan.

 

[rich32gb5s]

I often end up buying my Apple products from very.co..uk. 12 months interest free + cashback and recently £100 of the 11.
[automerge]1572912236[/automerge]

I actually gave up on the IUP for my iPhone 11. I tried it out with the X, but ultimately I think I get better bang for my buck just buying them. This year for instance, I passed my iPhone X along to my wife, which is what I normally used to do, pass them along to friends and family, that way someone I know is getting the benefit of it. (Yes, my friends think I’m mental too ).

The good thing though, is that if you go with the IUP and at some point decide that its not for you, you just don’t trade-in after the first year and continue to pay it just as an interest-free loan. After the 24 months are up, you own the iPhone outright, just as you would with any other loan.

So you get 24 months interest free ?

 

[akash.nu]

I actually gave up on the IUP for my iPhone 11. I tried it out with the X, but ultimately I think I get better bang for my buck just buying them. This year for instance, I passed my iPhone X along to my wife, which is what I normally used to do, pass them along to friends and family, that way someone I know is getting the benefit of it. (Yes, my friends think I’m mental too ).

The good thing though, is that if you go with the IUP and at some point decide that its not for you, you just don’t trade-in after the first year and continue to pay it just as an interest-free loan. After the 24 months are up, you own the iPhone outright, just as you would with any other loan.

I don’t get it. How are you getting more bang for your buck by buying them outright?! The IUP program, as you mentioned, is an interest free loan which essentially means you’re not paying anything extra. After the first year if you want to pass your device on to someone you can still do it while keep paying the monthly instalments.

 

[TrueBlou]

I don’t get it. How are you getting more bang for your buck by buying them outright?! The IUP program, as you mentioned, is an interest free loan which essentially means you’re not paying anything extra. After the first year if you want to pass your device on to someone you can still do it while keep paying the monthly instalments.

You can indeed, but then you wouldn’t have a device to trade in anymore, somewhat defeating the purpose of the IUP.

I’ve nothing against the IUP, if you use it as intended, it’s pretty good. But if you intend to donate your devices, it has no practical benefit over just buying the iPhone.

 

[akash.nu]

You can indeed, but then you wouldn’t have a device to trade in anymore, somewhat defeating the purpose of the IUP.

I’ve nothing against the IUP, if you use it as intended, it’s pretty good. But if you intend to donate your devices, it has no practical benefit over just buying the iPhone.

Yeah so in terms of no benefit, you’re just paying for the device in instalments. That’s it.

 

[TrueBlou]

Yeah so in terms of no benefit, you’re just paying for the device in instalments. That’s it.

As I said, the IUP is good enough if you intend to stay on it, no problem there.

But look at it another way, I have paid for my 11 Pro Max, fair enough, no big deal.
In a years time, on the IUP, when an iPhone is returned to Apple to get the new model, your loan is cancelled and a new one created for the new device. Essentially Apple is giving you 50% of the iPhones cost to write off the existing loan.

My previous experience of selling iPhones privately let’s me know I can get up to 80% of the original cost back, 30% more than Apple gives you. Making the cost of my next iPhone less (if I sell it rather than donate it to someone of course).

If you intend to stay on the IUP in perpetuity, then it’s not a terrible prospect, you certainly don’t have to deal with selling your old phone and even if the condition is pretty poor, it makes no difference to Apple, so long as it works.

On the other hand, selling privately, beyond the initial outlay for the device, can give you a better return on it and reduce the overall cost of ownership by more than the IUP year on year. With an obvious exclusion being the last year of the IUP, should you decide to leave. But even then, you’ll have made more in return from buying and selling over those same years.

It’s all down to personal preference, neither method is intrinsically better or worse than the other. They each have their pros and cons. So go with whatever you prefer.

For me, I’ve personally decided to go back to the old way of doing things for now, I’ll get a greater return on my investment if I sell a device each year.

But that’s not to say I will never go back to the IUP, I may get bored of dealing with selling, I may not necessarily donate a device. This year I’ve gone for the Max, which doesn’t appeal to anyone I know so it will likely be sold next year. If I decide to keep getting the Max sized phones, I may well go back to the IUP, time will tell.

 

[Pez555]

Although this is true in the US with services like Swappa we don’t really have a service like that in the UK. So I stick to trade in value Apple provides because I can’t be bothered with dealing with people.

I used mazuma mobile. Owed Barclays £400 odd and mazuma was paying £560. Sold it to them and got an extra £100 refunded from AppleCare too. Paid off barclays and had a nice chunk left over.

 

[akash.nu]

I used mazuma mobile. Owed Barclays £400 odd and mazuma was paying £560. Sold it to them and got an extra £100 refunded from AppleCare too. Paid off barclays and had a nice chunk left over.

I’ve never heard of that service. Will take a look. Thanks.

 

[cambookpro]

As I said, the IUP is good enough if you intend to stay on it, no problem there.

But look at it another way, I have paid for my 11 Pro Max, fair enough, no big deal.
In a years time, on the IUP, when an iPhone is returned to Apple to get the new model, your loan is cancelled and a new one created for the new device. Essentially Apple is giving you 50% of the iPhones cost to write off the existing loan.

My previous experience of selling iPhones privately let’s me know I can get up to 80% of the original cost back, 30% more than Apple gives you. Making the cost of my next iPhone less (if I sell it rather than donate it to someone of course).

If you intend to stay on the IUP in perpetuity, then it’s not a terrible prospect, you certainly don’t have to deal with selling your old phone and even if the condition is pretty poor, it makes no difference to Apple, so long as it works.

On the other hand, selling privately, beyond the initial outlay for the device, can give you a better return on it and reduce the overall cost of ownership by more than the IUP year on year. With an obvious exclusion being the last year of the IUP, should you decide to leave. But even then, you’ll have made more in return from buying and selling over those same years.

It’s all down to personal preference, neither method is intrinsically better or worse than the other. They each have their pros and cons. So go with whatever you prefer.

For me, I’ve personally decided to go back to the old way of doing things for now, I’ll get a greater return on my investment if I sell a device each year.

But that’s not to say I will never go back to the IUP, I may get bored of dealing with selling, I may not necessarily donate a device. This year I’ve gone for the Max, which doesn’t appeal to anyone I know so it will likely be sold next year. If I decide to keep getting the Max sized phones, I may well go back to the IUP, time will tell.

I think 80% is very optimistic. Maybe back in the iPhone 5 or 6 days, but post-£999 iPhone X especially, resale values have taken a fairly large hit. 60% seems to be about the norm for a year old iPhone now. A quick look on eBay shows a used 64GB iPhone XS (the £999 flagship just 14 months ago) now goes for £450-550.

I’m not denying that selling privately isn’t a better deal overall financially. It certainly is, but the difference isn’t as clear cut as one may immediately think.

It is a bit different for us in the UK. I think the Americans have a pretty great deal on the IUP, it has to be said, as their payments are spread over 24 months rather than our 20. That almost makes it a no brainer. I was running the figures this year and taking everything into account, IUP seemed to run ~£150 more per year than buying and selling privately. For me, that’s worth it for the spread payments, not having to worry about condition for resale, and the time savings.

 

[MisterSavage]

If it's like the IUP program in the USA I recommend it. I've been a member of that since they first started offering it and I absolutely love it. They used to make us return our old phone at the Apple Store but now I just have the new phone mailed to me and I have two weeks to return the old phone. It's trivially easy to upgrade. If they charged interest on the loan that would change everything but they don't.

 

[shenfrey]

If it's like the IUP program in the USA I recommend it. I've been a member of that since they first started offering it and I absolutely love it. They used to make us return our old phone at the Apple Store but now I just have the new phone mailed to me and I have two weeks to return the old phone. It's trivially easy to upgrade. If they charged interest on the loan that would change everything but they don't.

Do you still have to go into the store or once you are on the iup program can you just arrange the upgrade online?

 

[robbieduncan]

Do you still have to go into the store or once you are on the iup program can you just arrange the upgrade online?

I did mine in-store in the UK. You still have to return your old phone somehow

 

[Pez555]

I think 80% is very optimistic. Maybe back in the iPhone 5 or 6 days, but post-£999 iPhone X especially, resale values have taken a fairly large hit. 60% seems to be about the norm for a year old iPhone now. A quick look on eBay shows a used 64GB iPhone XS (the £999 flagship just 14 months ago) now goes for £450-550.

I’m not denying that selling privately isn’t a better deal overall financially. It certainly is, but the difference isn’t as clear cut as one may immediately think.

It is a bit different for us in the UK. I think the Americans have a pretty great deal on the IUP, it has to be said, as their payments are spread over 24 months rather than our 20. That almost makes it a no brainer. I was running the figures this year and taking everything into account, IUP seemed to run ~£150 more per year than buying and selling privately. For me, that’s worth it for the spread payments, not having to worry about condition for resale, and the time savings.

or just use my method and come out with profit...

 

[MisterSavage]

Do you still have to go into the store or once you are on the iup program can you just arrange the upgrade online?

They used to make you go to the store. Now they don't. You can do everything online including getting your first phone mailed to you and upgrading a phone. This is the USA version.

 

[ariusbb]

Resurrecting this...

Yes in US you can do upgrades online but not in U.K.

In U.K. financing is done through Barclays financing.

You can still buy from Apple online using financing options but not the upgrade programme. You can’t even upgrade online.
With the COVID-19 situation and everything shouldn’t they work towards providing that option now?
I don’t feel comfortable walking into the store being in a sensitive group. They don’t even allow somebody else to do the process for you as it requires your ID, signature etc as you are effectively getting a loan.

Anyone has any update around this and if something will change for iPhone 12?

 

[MrCookieMonster]

Resurrecting this...

Yes in US you can do upgrades online but not in U.K.

In U.K. financing is done through Barclays financing.

You can still buy from Apple online using financing options but not the upgrade programme. You can’t even upgrade online.
With the COVID-19 situation and everything shouldn’t they work towards providing that option now?
I don’t feel comfortable walking into the store being in a sensitive group. They don’t even allow somebody else to do the process for you as it requires your ID, signature etc as you are effectively getting a loan.

Anyone has any update around this and if something will change for iPhone 12?

I asked the same question a couple of weeks back. Hoping apple take this in to account this year and have an option for folks to not have to go to the shop to upgrade.

 

[GlastoEls]

+1