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Apple Will Soon Support Carrier Early Upgrade Programs In Stores

Even though in some instances consumers may wind up paying more, recent wireless earnings reports indicates that many users are happily signing up for early upgrade handset programs. Such programs allow users to spread the cost of a device out over numerous payments, in some instances in exchange for a lower monthly rate (programs, of course, vary).

These programs are about to get another boost on the news that Apple will soon start pushing AT&T's Next, T-Mobile's JUMP, and Verizon's Edge upgrade programs in stores:
quote:
Apple is preparing a significant expansion of its iPhone sales capabilities in its official retail stores, according to sources. Late in August, many Apple Stores in the United States will kick off a pilot program for customers to be able to purchase a new iPhone via the latest carrier upgrade programs: AT&T Next, T-Mobile JUMP, and Verizon Edge.
As it currently stands, iPhones purchased at an Apple store must either be bought subsidized with a new two-year contract, or unlocked at full retail price. Apple employees are to be trained on the new programs during August ahead of a presumed new iPhone(s) launch announcement late summer, early fall.
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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

I'd rather buy at a Verizon store

The guys at the Verizon store at Holyoke Mall know me by name. I must be a high roller there.

But if you buy a subsized device, go to Connecticut as they charge sales tax on the activated price where Mass charges on the full retail price of the phone. The only devices I buy subsidized these days are Jetpacks, I buy everything else full retail or on Edge which requires full sales tax anyways and Mass sales tax is cheaper than CT.

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
Premium Member
join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

1 recommendation

Selenia

Premium Member

Re: I'd rather buy at a Verizon store

Or better yet, pay retail price for a reasonably priced but powerful device(Nexus series for example, which are actually updated enough to live with for 2 years but without a contract or inflated retail price like Apple) that is not jacked to artificial prices by carriers. Pick a well priced prepaid plan(T-Mobile and some MVNOs offer good unlimited ones). Have your wallet thank you for saving it from utter rape by these horrible ripoff plans. ??? Profit!(big time even in just a year).

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Re: I'd rather buy at a Verizon store

I've owned iPhones since 2009 and always will. And I want a carrier that actually has reception and full network access. Many times MVNOs are not given full tower access by their host carriers. As for reception, I've had the best luck with Verizon. Where I'm at now (Sixteen Acres section of Springfield, MA) was a huge dead spot when I had AT&T.

Signal strength is the deciding factor in my carrier choice. And my loyalty to iPhones comes from the fact they play nice when syncing with my Macs.

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
Premium Member
join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

Selenia

Premium Member

Re: I'd rather buy at a Verizon store

Still get a better deal buying the iphone outright and doing a good prepaid unlimited plan. With the bonus of using your phone without worrying about quotas.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

Premium Member

Re: I'd rather buy at a Verizon store

Not really such a good deal when you get more limited coverage, lower network priority, and throttled speeds.

Selenia
Gentoo Convert
Premium Member
join:2006-09-22
Fort Smith, AR

Selenia

Premium Member

Re: I'd rather buy at a Verizon store

Funny, no issues here. I do use a carrier with lower network coverage now because they cover where I need at a good price with good customer service. But you like Verizon. They can only roam on Sprint and a few rural/regional carriers. How many places are covered by these guys that are not covered by Verizon? A vanilla iphone with GSM can use AT&T with the same deal, only roaming on T-Mobile and regional carriers instead. Not many places they don't cover that those guys do. Network priority? Never became an issue for me. Only issue used to be using older network technology, which is not so much anymore.
Big Dawg 23
join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN

Big Dawg 23 to Selenia

Member

to Selenia
Each is there own. I looked at the Nexus 5 but it's neutered LG G2. Nothing like destroy a good camera and shrinking thr battery size, I bought the LG G3 but just returned and stuck with my Note 3. I do have a iPhone 5 as a person phone and will upgrade to iPhone 6.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72

Member

This is no different than the car model, except now dealer only

There will always be some people that will want the latest and willing to pay before the device is "obsolete" in their eyes. This is great. It will drive innovation and in a free market this is their choice.

The BAD news is that I buy all my phones used or refurb for SIGNIFICANT savings because I value my money elsewhere and root. The question however is in the past after x months the person would have to dispose of the device by selling it to the open market, NOW these devices will go back to the carriers and I guarantee the "deals" to get these refurb will be much lower than before.

They can potentially disrupt the MVNO market by artificially limiting supply of handsets. Look what Verizon does to their MVNO (no LTE - ancient phones) as an example. I just switched the last to remaining holdouts of my family from Pageplus (verizon) to H2O with phones actually from this decade.

On a bright side, the carrier can guarantee the phone will work at a higher premium of course, and they are greedy so they won't want to keep all that inventory so they will liquidate after some time...

So it's like the only place you can trade your phone is at the dealer who will give you 60cents on the dollar, and then turn around and sell it for 2 dollars.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

Why not sooner?

Wonder why this wasn't done sooner...

Responsible
@69.142.79.x

Responsible

Anon

Re: Why not sooner?

said by IPPlanMan:

Wonder why this wasn't done sooner...

Apple sales of the iPhone have been ever so slightly slowing down year after year with only minor chgs to the phone. Apple is worried that without an installment plan option to buy their overpriced wares, the Samsung behemoth may finally bury them. They didn't want to take this step because full price buyers(subsidized or not) up until recently bought their products.

Ark4
join:2002-06-08
Lansing, MI

Ark4

Member

AT&T Next

I don't get AT&T Next. From what I've seen, you pay 12 or 18 monthly payments to buy the phone, but then in order to upgrade, you have to give them your phone? What's the point of "buying" it with monthly payments, only to have to surrender it to upgrade? The regular 2-year contracts where you actually get to KEEP your phone seem like such a better deal still.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

2 edits

IPPlanMan

Member

Re: AT&T Next

No down payment (have to pay tax)
No activation fee
No upgrade fee
No financing fee

"Any time after 12 or 18 monthly installments, you may upgrade to a new AT&T Next smartphone!
As long as your current smartphone is in good and working condition, you are eligible to upgrade to a brand new one. Or, you can choose to keep your current smartphone, and after 20 monthly installments (AT&T Next 12) or 24 monthly installments (AT&T Next 18), your smartphone is paid for, and no more installments are required."

Yes you have to give the phone back. However, now that there are line charge discounts ($15 off per line for under 10 GB shared data and $25 off per line for 10 GB and over) vs a 2 year contract if you are on Next, it's a better deal than it used to be. Otherwise, that was effectively a full price phone and plan, which meant carrier double dipping.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72 to Ark4

Member

to Ark4
Its a lease
78036364 (banned)
join:2014-05-06
USA

78036364 (banned)

Member

Re: AT&T Next

said by elefante72:

Its a lease

Not really. If you pay off the phone it's yours. You only turn it in if you upgrade before you pay it off. Why should you keep a phone if you only made half the payments?

Majestik
World Traveler
Premium Member
join:2001-05-11
Tulsa, OK

Majestik

Premium Member

Re: AT&T Next

More like rent to own.

gjrhine
join:2001-12-12
Pawleys Island, SC

gjrhine to 78036364

Member

to 78036364
And you are also paying for it in your data plan so you are paying for it twice. Most people do not know part of their monthly rate is paying for the carrier's subsidy.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

IPPlanMan

Member

Re: AT&T Next

The line discounts of $15 or $25 off are meant to offset that... Not sure if they do completely...

gjrhine
join:2001-12-12
Pawleys Island, SC

gjrhine

Member

Re: AT&T Next

I do not know of any line discounts in the Edge plan that are not in the standard plans.

gigahurtz
Premium Member
join:2001-10-20
USA

gigahurtz

Premium Member

Re: AT&T Next

The EDGE plans are the value plans. Those are discounted for people who aren't getting subsidy.

gjrhine
join:2001-12-12
Pawleys Island, SC

gjrhine

Member

Re: AT&T Next

Could you be any more wrong? lol

They are neither discounted nor does any one in any plan get subsidies. Mktg depts like to call loans "subsidies" just in case someone believes it.
ptb42
join:2002-09-30
USA

ptb42 to IPPlanMan

Member

to IPPlanMan
said by IPPlanMan:

The line discounts of $15 or $25 off are meant to offset that... Not sure if they do completely...

The $25 discount is a good deal: That's $300/year, or $600 over a two year period. An iPhone is $650 without a contract, $200 with a contract. So, you save $150 over the two year period, and the phone is unlocked when you buy it.

"Next" was a lousy deal before the discount. Now, you simply pay the cost of the phone over 12-18 months. You still save $150. But, the phone is locked until it is paid off.

Of course, you have to pay for a 10GB/month plan to get the $25 discount, even if you don't need all that data. But, our bill for two phones is lower than it has ever been.

IPPlanMan
Holy Cable Modem Batman
join:2000-09-20
Washington, DC

1 edit

IPPlanMan

Member

Re: AT&T Next

Still doesn't make sense to me why carriers want to do this...

They are subsidizing the whole cost of the phone over the installment period with zero down instead of only part of it.
ptb42
join:2002-09-30
USA

ptb42

Member

Re: AT&T Next

said by IPPlanMan:

Still doesn't make sense to me why carriers want to do this...

T-Mobile forced AT&T's and Verizon's hand by offering "no-contract" plans. They offered a fixed payment schedule that would end after 2 years, and subtracted the former subsidy payments from the service fee.

T-Mobile did this this to entice customers to switch. I think they even offered to pay ETFs. It must have been working, because AT&T and Verizon quickly responded and offered no-contract prices at a significant discount.

gjrhine
join:2001-12-12
Pawleys Island, SC

gjrhine to IPPlanMan

Member

to IPPlanMan
No your monthly costs increase significantly.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

elefante72 to 78036364

Member

to 78036364
It is a $1 lease. I run these all the time. This means that at the end of the lease period, essentially you own it, but if you turn it in before the end of the lease (when the company has made a profit) (12/18 mo), you will pay a price in less value than what you have paid into it (the money factor). In addition, now AT&T can go and resell that device and make profit on it again, or liquidate it. The good ones will remain CPO (certified pre-owned) and the rest get liquidated not too much different than you see in car sales.

As a consequence like a regular car lease, it has to be in good condition, otherwise they will assign less capital value when you turn it in, or say if you have a cracked screen and no insurance, fix it first or pay it off.

Majestik
World Traveler
Premium Member
join:2001-05-11
Tulsa, OK

Majestik to Ark4

Premium Member

to Ark4
No thanks.
I'd rather keep my grandpa unlimited data with airline discount.
Get the iPhone 6.AT&T Unlock my Iphone 5 and sell it in Brazil.