For those of you thinking of using the UK O2 Refresh offer this week, be very careful when choosing the payment arrangement for the phone.
For example, the 32GB 5s is £629 at Apple, yet with the low up front payment deals on Refresh, you actually pay O2 £699 for the phone, £70 more than buying sim free from Apple. For the higher up-front payments, the handset cost is closer to the Apple price. For the 16GB deal for example, i think you actually save money on the handset on some deals. To me it seems a little underhand of them to be charging so much more on some deals and less on others.
Refresh is not necessarily a bad deal but it is worth understanding what you're paying overall. The Sim-only contracts are £4-5 more than on Refresh, however you are only tied in to a 12 month contract. If you want the 32GB 5S and can afford to pay the full cost up front, you may be better buying direct from Apple as 12 x £5 difference is £60. Who knows what tariffs will cost in a year's time - but buying sim-only gives you future flexibility if prices come down.
I was told that you will not be able to use O2 Open discount codes with the 5S at launch.
For example, the 32GB 5s is £629 at Apple, yet with the low up front payment deals on Refresh, you actually pay O2 £699 for the phone, £70 more than buying sim free from Apple. For the higher up-front payments, the handset cost is closer to the Apple price. For the 16GB deal for example, i think you actually save money on the handset on some deals. To me it seems a little underhand of them to be charging so much more on some deals and less on others.
Refresh is not necessarily a bad deal but it is worth understanding what you're paying overall. The Sim-only contracts are £4-5 more than on Refresh, however you are only tied in to a 12 month contract. If you want the 32GB 5S and can afford to pay the full cost up front, you may be better buying direct from Apple as 12 x £5 difference is £60. Who knows what tariffs will cost in a year's time - but buying sim-only gives you future flexibility if prices come down.
I was told that you will not be able to use O2 Open discount codes with the 5S at launch.
