Thinking about buying an iPhone 6 once it comes out later this year? Be prepared to figure out brand new purchase plans -- and possibly pay more overall.
Until recently, wireless carriers typically subsidized the price of your device. They would charge you $200 as a down payment, and then locked you into a two-year contract.
That's changing.
Depending which carrier you go with, you'll either pay nothing upfront and face a higher monthly bill. Or you will have to pick up the full cost of around $650, in exchange for a slightly lower bill.
Last year, T-Mobile (TMUS) became the first major U.S. carrier to drop wireless service contracts. The other major carriers are starting to experiment.
Though you can still get a $200 phone with a contract through AT&T (T, Fortune 500)and Sprint (S, Fortune 500) they don't advertise the plans, and it's difficult to sign-up on their websites. Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) still has the subsidized plan as a standard offering.
Expect more changes when the iPhone 6 is released. Apple's new smartphone is rumored to be making its debut this August, and it's sure to spark a marketing frenzy.
Should you foot the bill for the entire cost of a new IPhone or get a deal with no money down?
Either way, you'll pay more than you're used to.
When you pay the full price for an unsubsidized phone, carriers will typically knock about $10 off the monthly wireless service plan. But the total cost of an iPhone ($650 for a 16 GB version) more than offsets the savings.
The average monthly cost of a no-subsidy plan with zero down is $28 more than if you pay $200 up front.
Over the course of a year, that unsubsidized plan will set you back about $75 more than the old-fashioned two-year contract plan, according to estimates from Macquarie Securities analyst Kevin Smithen.
No comments:
Post a Comment