I also like that you don't necessarily have to give your phone back. If you end up happy with what you've got then you just eventually own the phone.
Yes but if you keep it after 24 months you would own it, but if you want to start another iUP contract, then you would apply with Citizen's again.
I bought the phone at an Apple store but went through the Verizon upgrade plan. It's slightly cheaper because you aren't required to use Applecare+ or Verizon's insurance plan and I've been a Verizon customer for over 20 years so no need for a credit check. Only downside is you have to haggle with Verizon CS to try and get the silly activation fee removed or reduced.
My girlfriend is an avid iPhone upgrade fan as she always wants the latest greatest iPhone so I get to play with the newest version every year to see if it's worth it to me to upgrade. Honestly, I'm not a power user so I saw little difference over the years in day to day performance. Camera of course was better every year but performance wasn't a huge leap. When I went from my 6S to the X there was a difference but wasn't a huge leap, I really wanted a change in the form factor and interface and that was the main reason for the upgrade. FaceID was also a big factor as TouchID never worked well for me. I work with my hands and even 2nd gen TouchID would fail just as many times as it worked so FaceID was a game changer for me..
Yes, not having to deal with the hassle of selling the old phone is such a plus for me. Put the phone in a cardboard box, drop it in a Fedex drop box and I'm done. The convenience is worth losing some money for me.
And there it is. I didn’t know I’d be forfeiting the trade-in value. I knew there would be a catch. I will just use my AppleCard and take the 3%. I am using that to pay for my M1 mini and I prefer it to the Citizens loan.
I am going to try to answer the best I can. Upgrading every two years and using the IUP program costs the same amount of money (assuming you get Apple Care). The difference being that you will trade in your phone, every year for a new one. The bad part is you 100 percent always have a phone payment that will never stop. I traded my iPhone XS for an iPhone 11 on the iUP program and was actually able to save some on the monthly outlay without hassle. When the iPhone 12 came out, I wasn’t interested so I paid off my iPhone 11 (yes you can pay it off any time after three months I think).
Agree - I have stopped using the iUP because I felt it was a revolving door of constant monthly payment (albeit at 0%) - like leasing a car.
No, you're not - you're guaranteed to get 50% of the phone's original price when you trade it in on the upgrade program. I don't know where people are missing this. Get a phone on the upgrade program...you can pay 24 months, which is the entire cost of the phone and own the phone outright. But, after only 12 payments, you can hand it back to Apple and get the new phone and start again. You're not forgoing any value - you're paying for half the phone, using it for a year, and trading it in. if you want to keep it instead of trading it in, finish your remaining 12 payments and you own the phone. For me, it's worth it to not have to deal with potential scammers on eBay and other sites. I used to sell to Swappa, and even thatis a pain in the butt. The upgrade program makes it all simple.
How do you figure? I think you're mixing up the Apple Upgrade Program with some of Apple's other "trade in for credit" options.
