Macworld:
Apple really, really wants you to stop using that old iPhone and to upgrade to a new one. On Thursday, the company announced the Trade Up With Installments plan, the third purchase plan customers can opt into when buying a new iPhone.
The Trade Up With Installments plan is targeted at users of the iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5c, 5s, 6, and 6 Plus and is only available at the Apple Store. You can bring in your old iPhone and Apple will give you credit for the device, and then you can pay off the new unlocked iPhone in monthly installments.
This sounds like a great plan to get newer iPhones in the hands of those who want the latest and greatest iPhones but just don’t have $600+ to put down upfront. I hope this program is available outside the US.
Of course this is just availibale in the US.
This sounds like a great plan to get newer iPhones in the hands of those
who want the latest and greatest iPhones but just don’t have $600+ to
put down upfront.
For US customers, of course, most (all?) the big carriers already offer essentially that anyway – they just roll a charge into your monthly bill.
(International offers will depend a lot of market size vs. regulatory overhead of offering a financing deal and carrier interaction.
I wouldn’t bet on it anytime soon, most places.)
The big question is the amount of credit you get for your old phone. Right now I am looking forward to eliminating the cost of my iPhone from my Verizon bill (monthly installments, interest free) when my iPhone is paid off.
Would be ok except they play into only the 4 major carriers.
Why do we always talk about the iPhone as if it’s $600 or whatever out off pocket? VERY few US customers pay that way. For example, I’m paying T-Mobile in installments for the 6S Plus I have. The entire ‘iPhone is expensive’ canard comes from this way of talking about its price. An iPhone isn’t any more expensive than a comparable high end Samsung or LG.
I looked at Apple’s plan last September when I bought my iPhone 6s. Apple’s terms were way more expensive than T-Mobile’s. With Apple, I would pay about $40 per month (128 gig phone) and have to pay for two years, and if I trade it in after one year, I’m on a new track for two years, and I have to give the old phone back. With T-Mobile, I’m paying $25 a month for the phone, and I can pay it off in 18 months for $200 and it’s mine. And it’s already unlocked. Apple’s financing deals have never been that great.