The carriers really are getting carried away trying to sell you an iPhone 6s as they respond to Apple’s own Upgrade Program. T-Mobile got the ball rolling with a $125 discount on an 18-month plan, before later offering an iPhone 6s from just $5/month if you trade in your iPhone 6 as part of the deal. Sprint has now responded with a similar deal for just $1/month.
This new offer is part of Sprint’s iPhone Forever program, which allows new and upgrade-eligible Sprint customers to get the newest iPhone as soon as it is available.
Of course, the old adage applies: if a deal seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true …
Both T-Mobile’s $5/month plan and Sprint’s $1/month version have the same three caveats. First, you aren’t really buying your new iPhone 6s/Plus, you are merely leasing it. When the plan ends, you have to hand back the phone. Second, you have to trade-in an iPhone 6, which is worth a decent chunk of cash on the used market. Third, the prices cited are for the 16GB model.
Anyone considering this or any other deal will want to do the sums very carefully to see what makes most financial sense – and, of course, to factor in which network offers you the best coverage. Personally, I always buy my iPhones outright, part-funding them by selling the old one, then I’m free to choose my service plan from anyone I like. Our recent polls suggested that the majority of you planned to do the same, with only a minority interested in a leasing option. Both T-Mobile and Sprint are also among the first carriers in the US that will sell the Apple Watch.
Have any of these deals changed you mind? Let us know in the comments.
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Please be careful with misinformation.
While I don’t know the specifics of the lease of the Sprint program, the T-Mobile JUMP! on Demand program does offer two options at the end of the 18-month lease: 1. return the device, 2. make a single payoff to keep the device. Note that the total cost of the lease and the payoff is actually less than the full purchase price of the phone because it is leased to the customer at 0% interest and because of the promotional credits applied each month (whether you’re trading in a phone or not).
beyondthetech,
And that discount comes to $148 off (just under $700 total cost) for an iPhone 6S Plus 64 GB. That’s an exceptional deal. Oh, and did I mention they’re giving you either $90 or $120 toward the cost of you trade in “basically any phone”?
It’s a bit exasperating to keep seeing the headlines and articles claiming that it’s “only a lease”. At the end, you have the option of paying $164 and keeping your phone. If you’re in an area with good T-Mobile coverage, it’s a steal.
The Sprint deal, on the other hand, I’m going to assume is a standard lease. I know their “iPhone for life” program is and it looks like this is under the same category. It isn’t nearly a good of a deal.
However, it’s easy to read a few headlines and repeat the same mistakes the other sites keep making. Hopefully they’ll update the article.
The discount is baked into the monthly service charges. If you want to shop for better service prices you’ll find them.
That $148 discount only comes if you trade in your iPhone 6. Would you sell your iPhone 6 for $148? How about if you traded in an iPhone 6+ 128GB? For $148? Crazy talk. This will be my first time not upgrading my iphone. The shenanigans with the carriers has gotten out of hand. Time to sit back and coast on old hardware and discounted rate plans. First time I’ve decided the $$ is more important than the device. Congrats to the carriers for jacking it all up so bad that even Apple could get in on the action and usurp your business.
No, that’s without trade in. I kept my mint condition iPhone 5S 64 GB because I think I can get more than the $252 they offered.
I understand the plans can be a little hard to follow but if you read the info on T-mobiles website instead of the mangled version the press gives, it makes a bit more sense.
It’s $20/ month for the 6S, $24/ month for the Plus over 18 months. At the end, you give the device back **or** pay $164 and keep the phone.
If you trade in last years phone, you get the new phone for $5/ month. That’s a savings of $15/ month over 18 months, saving you $270 total. Not a great price for a one year old iPhone, but not too bad either.
However, the $20-$24/month is without trade in. And they made the deal retroactive for everyone that had already traded in their phone.
$270 isn’t a bad price for a 1 year old iPhone? A month or so back you could have sold a 6 for about $100 below retail unlocked – and you’d have buyers climbing all over themselves to get it.
The best deal you’ll find is selling your old iPhone every year 1 to 1.5 months before the new one is announced. If you can get a new one for a small discount, then go for it and just remember to sell it the following year as mentioned.
I’m sorry, I meant “not a bad price considering the fact it’s zero hassle for you”.
I agree that I wouldn’t think of seeking a 6 for that, but it’s a far cry from $148, which was the number a previous commenter had mentioned.
And I *never* trade in devices myself. You usually get far more out of it selling it outright.
$150 off of $850 for the 64 GB iPhone 6S Plus is %17 off. I consider that a sizable discount.
Apple must be loving this – they have no reason for dropping prices or lowering their margins – at least the in the US – these carriers are going crazy!
Next week is going to be a great time to buy a used iPhone 6 – the carriers and Apple are going to have tonnes of them …
But carriers continue to profit. With these leasing and payment programs the customers are the ones on the short end of the stick. They’re having customers pay full price of close to full price for a phone and still lock them in their network. The old subsidize $450 discount is pretty much dead. Only people that are grandfathered with the old plans are the only ones benefitting from the discount.
beyondthetech,
And that discount comes to $148 off (just under $700 total cost) for an iPhone 6S Plus 64 GB. That’s an exceptional deal. Oh, and did I mention they’re giving you either $90 or $120 toward the cost of you trade in “basically any phone”?
It’s a bit exasperating to keep seeing the headlines and articles claiming that it’s “only a lease”. At the end, you have the option of paying $164 and keeping your phone. If you’re in an area with good T-Mobile coverage, it’s a steal.
The Sprint deal, on the other hand, I’m going to assume is a standard lease. I know their “iPhone for life” program is and it looks like this is under the same category. It isn’t nearly a good of a deal.
However, it’s easy to read a few headlines and repeat the same mistakes the other sites keep making. Hopefully they’ll update the article.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. And there are no iPhone discounts. iPhones start at close to $500 and go to almost $1000 – there’s no way around that no matter where or how you buy one. Sellers can play with the numbers all the want, but those prices will never change until Apple changes them.
What do you mean there’s no discounts? What I’ll be paying with Apple’s iPhone upgrade program and AT&T coverage is around $37/mo. That’s the full cost of a 64GB iPhone plus AppleCare+ amortized over 24 months. Clearly in the case of Sprint and T-Mobile thee’s no way they’re breaking even on the iPhones they’re selling with these $1 and $5 per month plans.
If you believe that you’re saving money using Apple’s subscription model, you’re not calculating things correctly. This has been covered to death in blogs, including comparison charts of final phone cost. You’re paying more for the phone than if you bought it outright at retail. Applecare doesn’t cost Apple anything and Applecare+ doesn’t either as your replacement and repair charges cover the costs associated with providing those services. No company will set up a promotion that impacts them negatively. These ‘deals’ are designed to increase gross and net profits.
So basically Sprint and T-Mobile really are subsidizing the phone to get more customers. There’s no way they can break even charging you $5 or $1 a month.
they are not subsidizing anything. people keep forgetting u have to turn in an iPhone 6/Plus to get these promotions. they will actually end up making money on this deal.
No, with T-Mobile you pay $164 at the end of the month if you want to keep the phone. It works out to a $125 savings with the 6S and and $148 savings with the Plus.
The had some issues setting up my plan with the lease do the Solutions specialist just gave me the discount straight up. $275 discount for my Plus and my wife’s 6S. And we own the devices after they’re paid off. And T-Mobile will unlock them for us once they’re paid off as well.
Uh, no… With T-Mobile you pay the monthly cost plus another $10/month for the “Jump” plan plus whatever the “Family Value” option costs PLUS the $164 at the end of the 18 month period. Make no mistake… they’re getting their money. There’s no “savings” on our end.
I’ve been a T-Mobile customer for over a year and was satisfied until I tried to pre-order the iPhone 6s and found their “lowest price” complete bogus!
There are catches like: it’s Sprint.
What’s the cheapest total cost per month for phone and service?
The best deal seems to be trade in any working smartphone and $15 a month. But I have Cricket so that’s still more than I’m willing to pay obviously.