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Apple offering iPhones on AT&T Next installment plans through online store, but no Verizon or T-Mobile financing (yet)

Following our report in late July that Apple was about to start selling iPhones through carrier upgrade/installment plans like AT&T’s Next, the company is now offering exactly that through its online store.

As of earlier this month, Apple’s website now displays the AT&T Next $0 down installment plan for existing AT&T customers upgrading to a new iPhone 5s, 5c, or 4S. That option is alongside its previous options of purchasing a device under a typical 2-year contract with one of the carriers or unlocked and contract-free.

While Apple is currently only offering the AT&T Next instalment plans through its online store, the company has also started a pilot of T-Mobile’s JUMP and Verizon’s Edge installment/upgrade plans in its retail stores earlier this month, as we originally reported in July. Those plans, however, are curiously not offered online as of yet.  

AT&T Next allows customers to upgrade to a new phone every 12 or 18 months with no down payment and bundles the cost of hardware into monthly service plan bills. AT&T also offers approximately $25 off monthly service plans for users signing up through Next as detailed by Apple here. For an entry-level iPhone 5s model, that’s 20 payments of around $32.45 on top of your wireless service costs. Here’s a breakdown of the plan that Apple has on its site:

In June, Apple also started selling and activating prepaid iPhones for AT&T and T-Mobile. 

We’ve reached out to Apple for official word regarding the new plans, but have yet to hear back.

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Comments

  1. Jerry Glonek - 10 years ago

    I do hope that Verizon gets added before the iPhone 6 launch (Sure I could do it from Verizon’s page, but). Unfortunately I think I will need to go this route if I want the iPhone 6 on launch day. My normal upgrade date is 9/21 – two days after the launch. And since carriers are offering this option now I am not expecting Verizon to grant me an early upgrade like in years past.

  2. JoeyNice - 10 years ago

    Awesome! I was hoping they would extend this to the online store! I just checked the Apple Store app and it isn’t available on that yet though.

  3. Troy - 10 years ago

    I’m tired of these ripoff programs. You don’t own the device, you pay more and you lose the potential for resale at the end of the term. PLUS- if you have any damage to the device, you could be liable for the balance. Wake up! Carriers are selling the same device twice, and you’re paying more.

    Look at the activation fee- free if you let them own the device, $40 if you buy it with subsidy… No reason for that except to leverage you into their plan.

    Own your device- own your data, folks. Its not just the device you’re letting go of, its also some of your rights.

    • I don’t think you get how these programs work.

      AT&T Next is use a 0% APR financing option. You own the device when you pay it off. You don’t pay more at the end, it is the same price as buying the phone unlocked.

      How do you lose resale value? Also how is paying the balance if the phone is damaged a bad thing?

      • Andrew DenHerder - 10 years ago

        I think you are both right depending on what you do. You can trade up early with these plans. Get a new iPhone after 12 months and before all your payments are complete. The catch is you have to trade in your old one to get the new one “early”. Otherwise you can continue to make your payments until it is paid off then it is yours to do with what you please.

      • Troy - 10 years ago

        Actually, I do understand. See, for my $199, at the end of 2 years I own my device free and clear. At the end of your 12 or 18 month term, you’ll return the device in exchange for the next one. I’ll sell mine and put the money toward my new one. I haven’t soent one penny of my own money on new devices since I purchased my 3G.

        By taking part in this plan, you’ll pay an amout up to half of the price of the phone before you can hand it in for a new one. You can’t sell it second hand, or, if you do you have to pay off full retail before you can upgrade.

        The ONLY benefit would be if someone just had to have a new device every year which is not necessary.

        Per the diagram, you have 20 months of payments at $32 a month if you want to upgrade in twelve. That $640. Even if you pay only 12 months, its $384 and you don’t own the device!!

        My $199 does not include an extra monthly fee. And after 2 years, which is a VERY reasonable expectation for any modern electronic device, i own it and can do whatever I want with it.

      • Andrew Messenger - 10 years ago

        Troy, you are forgetting that if you’re on a Next plan, your service is cheaper. Which makes it cost almost exactly the same over 2 years with the same phone.

      • Jerry Glonek - 10 years ago

        At first I felt the way you do Troy. That I was basically double-paying for the phone (since we pay the subsidized amount). I don’t know if it’s recent or not, But Verizon started offering discounts on their More Everything plan based on phones/data.

        Right now on the old fashioned plan I pay $160/mo for two iPhones with 6GB of Data.

        If I went to More Everything, I could do two iPhones (with no payment up front), and 10GB of data for $130 a month (6GB of data is $140/mo. Let’s not ask). Sure I need to pay what, $27/mo on top of that per iPhone, so $184/mo. But that will take 8 months to catch up to the original $200 up-front per phone. And then in 4 more months I can upgrade. Sure.

        Not to mention this would make it easier for me to throw in an iPad or something if I wanted, which I’m sure is exactly the catch they want. I could add an iPad Mini Retina for $20 a month or something and I pay it until I hit the $400 retail cost 20 months later. No APR on it.

      • jsbrock - 10 years ago

        @Jerry Glonek If you’re on an 18-month plan, then it’s 27 bucks. On a 12 month plan, it costs around 37 for a 64 Gb iPhone 6 because lets face it, 16 Gb is way too small.

  4. jennagibbons - 10 years ago

    I would imagine most carriers will offer an option to upgrade to iPhone 6 in the next week or two. As for trading in to Apple directly, I would think twice. Shop around as you can get better deals elsewhere – Gazelle.com, SellCell.com, Craigslist, eBay and Amazon Marketplace are just a collection of popular sites that can help you give a better decision.

  5. Matt Bauman - 10 years ago

    So I am currently on the AT&T Next 12 Month Program with a iPhone 5s. I am eligible to upgrade to the iPhone 6. Let’s say I do so on the Apple Website, does anyone know how I “turn in my phone to AT&T” which is required as part of the upgrade?

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.