Other Is the iPhone Upgrade Program worth it?

[ilex27]

I normally upgrade every two years, and will be ordering a 13 Pro Max as soon as they allow it. I was considering the annual upgrade program two years ago when I bought my 11 Pro Max but didn't. I am not hard on my phones and have either sold them on or traded them in. One time I bought the thing outright but with the 0% financing that Apple gives I just make those 24 payments. But it occurs to me that I will probably ALWAYS have that payment so why not get that new model every year? Is there something I am overlooking?

Good idea or APPLE HYPE?

 

[Knowlege Bomb]

If you're someone who upgrades every year regardless then it's absolutely worth it. After that it really comes down to whether or not you can afford the revolving payment.

 

[now i see it]

In my opinion, nowadays, buying a new iPhone every two years makes about as much sense as buying a new bicycle every two years

 

[SisterBlue22]

If you're someone who upgrades every year regardless then it's absolutely worth it. After that it really comes down to whether or not you can afford the revolving payment.

100% what he said. No interest, AppleCare included, pay it off and keep it, or trade it in after 12 months, and no fiddling around with trying to sell your old phone on eBay or whatever. Hand your old one to them, they hand you a brand new one in return, and you're done. I've been on the Upgrade Program since the very first year it was offered, and I think it's awesome.

 

[teknikal90]

i could do everything I do now on my iphone 12 pro 3 years ago on my iphone x. the only difference really is that the 12 pro is faster, and as iOS and apps grew over that time, the new hardware is tangibly better today. 3 years ago, the X was as fast as the 12 pro is today.
so a year over year upgrade seems futile to me, nowadays. this is not 2010 anymore.

 

[boak]

I'm guessing it's only worth it if you upgrade every year, since it's like guaranteeing ~half of the value when you trade in?

 

[braddick]

In my opinion, nowadays, buying a new iPhone every two years makes about as much sense as buying a new bicycle every two years

And others may be of the opinion buying a new iPhone every two years makes about as much sense as buying new underwear every two years.

 

[ilex27]

I upgrade for new features tbh, primarily the camera. Does it NEED to be every year? Probably not.

 

[BigDO]

I think it’s a no brainer, given that there is no interest. If I was in a country where this was an option I’d definitely use it.

 

[RedRage]

No, it's not.

 

[boak]

If you don't usually get AppleCare, then definitely no.

 

[akash.nu]

I’ve decided not to do this anymore since I learned that every upgrade is a hard credit check here in the U.K. . Just for a mere phone I’m not willing to take that hit. I’ll just either buy it outright or just keep my phone.

 

[xxray]

If you buy a new phone every year, maybe. But even then, the iPhone Upgrade Program forces you into buying Apple Care+, requires credit checks, and you’d save money if you went through the inconvenience of reselling your iPhone every year instead.

 

[MisterSavage]

100% what he said. No interest, AppleCare included, pay it off and keep it, or trade it in after 12 months, and no fiddling around with trying to sell your old phone on eBay or whatever. Hand your old one to them, they hand you a brand new one in return, and you're done. I've been on the Upgrade Program since the very first year it was offered, and I think it's awesome.

100% what she said. I've been a member from day one of the program and I love it. Only possible negative I can see for some people is that since it's a loan (with 0% interest) they have to do a credit check.

Do I "need" to upgrade every year? No
Is it as cost effective as holding on to a phone for a long time? No
Do I enjoy it and can afford it? Yes, and that's all that matters to me. It's my splurge for myself.

 

[SisterBlue22]

If you buy a new phone every year, maybe. But even then, the iPhone Upgrade Program forces you into buying Apple Care+, requires credit checks, and you’d save money if you went through the inconvenience of reselling your iPhone every year instead.

I've been in since day one, upgraded every single year, and Citizens hasn't done a hard pull on my credit since the very first year. I have a MyFICO subscription and see every single thing that touches my credit on any of the three bureaus.

That might not be the case for all, and not in all countries, but it's been my experience. I'm guessing that my 6 years of flawless history with Citizens by now keeps me in good standing for the following year.

 

[MisterSavage]

I've been in since day one, upgraded every single year, and Citizens hasn't done a hard pull on my credit since the very first year. I have a MyFICO subscription and see every single thing that touches my credit on any of the three bureaus.

That might not be the case for all, and not in all countries, but it's been my experience. I'm guessing that my 6 years of flawless history with Citizens by now keeps me in good standing for the following year.

Same here. Hard pull the first year but not in the years after. I've never missed a payment and have a high credit score so I assume I'm considered very low risk when I renew.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

I am on iPhone upgrade program since 2015-2016 whatever year it was released and have been upgrading every year except with X which I kept 2 years and went to 11 Pro max. right now I am using 12 pro max and I might just keep it for another year although I am tempted to get 13 pro max even before the release or reveal lol! so in short if you have a problem of having the latest phone then its good otherwise the older phone will work fine for one more year!

 

[Ethrem]

I prefer to just use Apple Card installments personally. It makes AppleCare optional, you get a 3% discount on the phone, you still get 0% for 24 months, and if you want to upgrade at a year you just pay it off early and sell it or trade it in. No new account ding on your credit and you end up spending less money overall since you actually get a discount from the trade in. iUP is just a perpetual lease program and you’re forfeiting any trade in value as a result.

I don’t like being tied down to expensive postpaid either so Apple Card installments and prepaid saves me a ton of money on my plan (I have a plan that costs me $8.44 a month with tax right now to give you an idea) and gets me a pretty decent deal from Apple when I trade in (I used Apple Card installments last year and Apple gave me $370 for my two year old XS Max which dropped the price of a 12 Pro Max to $729 and I got another $30 in cash back). The only real downside of the installments program is if you can’t afford to pay off the phone early and you want to upgrade but I very much subscribe to the “if you can’t pay it off, you shouldn’t be buying it” philosophy anyway.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

I prefer to just use Apple Card installments personally. It makes AppleCare optional, you get a 3% discount on the phone, you still get 0% for 24 months, and if you want to upgrade at a year you just pay it off early and sell it or trade it in. No new account ding on your credit and you end up spending less money overall since you actually get a discount from the trade in. iUP is just a perpetual lease program and you’re forfeiting any trade in value as a result.

I don’t like being tied down to expensive postpaid either so Apple Card installments and prepaid saves me a ton of money on my plan (I have a plan that costs me $8.44 a month with tax right now to give you an idea) and gets me a pretty decent deal from Apple when I trade in (I used Apple Card installments last year and Apple gave me $370 for my two year old XS Max which dropped the price of a 12 Pro Max to $729 and I got another $30 in cash back). The only real downside of the installments program is if you can’t afford to pay off the phone early and you want to upgrade but I very much subscribe to the “if you can’t pay it off, you shouldn’t be buying it” philosophy anyway.

just a small correction: there is no new account ding on your credit. its only the first time and after that its always a soft pull and doesnt show up on the credit report or affect the credit score!

 

[Ethrem]

just a small correction: there is no new account ding on your credit. its only the first time and after that its always a soft pull and doesnt show up on the credit report or affect the credit score!

Citizens doesn’t report the account at all? That’s good to know. It’s still a terrible deal though.

 

[MuGeN PoWeR]

Citizens doesn’t report the account at all? That’s good to know. It’s still a terrible deal though.

yeah it doesnt report it all. Also you still get 3% discount if you pay via Apple Card.

 

[Ethrem]

yeah it doesnt report it all. Also you still get 3% discount if you pay via Apple Card.

Yeah I know you get the 3% but forfeiting the trade in value is a huge penalty. For example someone upgrading from an 11 Pro Max to a 12 Pro Max would get a whopping $540 credit from Apple or over $700 for a good condition one on Swappa. That just entirely evaporates with iUP.

 

[Barbareren]

Pardon my ignorance, but is this ‘program’ something specific to the U.S. only, or is it related to some specific operator or Apple Care+? I never buy anything on credit and I loathe Apple ‘Care’+, so I assume I’m not eligible because I buy my phones SIM-free (even though I use the official Apple Store in my current country of residence)?

 

[boak]

Yeah I know you get the 3% but forfeiting the trade in value is a huge penalty. For example someone upgrading from an 11 Pro Max to a 12 Pro Max would get a whopping $540 credit from Apple or over $700 for a good condition one on Swappa. That just entirely evaporates with iUP.

But you only pay for 12 out of 24(?) instalments for the 11 Pro Max when you upgrade, no?

 

[MisterSavage]

Pardon my ignorance, but is this ‘program’ something specific to the U.S. only, or is it related to some specific operator or Apple Care+? I never buy anything on credit and I loathe Apple ‘Care’+, so I assume I’m not eligible because I buy my phones SIM-free (even though I use the official Apple Store in my current country of residence)?

They did start to offer it in other places such as the UK.

iPhone Upgrade Programme

Get a new iPhone every year, and the protection of AppleCare+ with the iPhone Upgrade Programme. Buy now or visit an Apple Store today.

www.apple.com

If you don't like Apple Care the program isn't a good fit because you can't opt out of that to pay less.