No that's not the point of that. The $1000 deal is a way to lure people in to buying new lines and trading in phones that you already own. You can't use those promotional offers as an upgrade plan.
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Other Yearly upgraders, how do you do it?
- Thread starter pcd213
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Even the so-called "iterative" updates are useful year over year, and I appreciate and enjoy the engineering effort and details that show themselves in the product. The people who label everything Apple does as "iterative" are doing a ton of projection and coping.YepI choose the 12 month because getting a shiny new toy every year makes the brain chemicals do the good thing, even if the updates are iterative. This year I am very excited for the capture button because I do a lot of skateboard filming and currently, when I need to zoom in and out, I often accidentally tap the wrong zoom button and it messes up my video. I can’t watch the skater move AND look at the zoom options simultaneously. I look forward to seamless zooming!
I actually have a bum iPhone 15 PM that I finally confirmed today. Always thought the signal wasn't great on this one compared to the 12PM I had. I used another non-iphone and the signal with the same service worked fine. Instead of Apple giving me the run around to replace it I'm hoping they have decent upgrade deals this year for the 16.
I used to be on the 2 years upgrade for years but jumped from the 14 Pro to 15 Pro last year. May upgrade again this year for the bigger screen, better camera and other new features. True there is nothing wrong with my current 15 Pro but tech for me is a hobby. I like having newer tech and selling the previous model more than cuts the price in half to upgrade. I also put money aside every years in savings so that's not an issue.
I'm on Apple's upgrade program. It feels like I don't have to do anything, just once a year a new phone is delivered and then I plop my old one in a box and send it back. They really take it in whatever condition it is no questions asked, even with small cracks in the glass.
Yes this means I don't "own" my phone. I pay forty-something dollars every month for a phone for the rest of my life and that's fine. We're knee-deep in subscription hell anyway.
My justification used to be that I'm a mobile software product designer and I need the most recent iteration of the iPhone (and lesser of an extent for Android) to design around its latest features, screen size/technology, etc. But for the past 4 years that hasn't been true. App and web layouts are fluid and responsive and automatically adjust to any screen size you throw at it now. OLED is the new standard. There are no UI elements exclusive to the newest phone. So I'm just kind of stuck in a pattern. Every once and a while I'll skip a generation and feel good about it since there wasn't a big jump in tech and I was planning on skipping the 15, but omg, as a photographer also, 5x zoom has been a game changer.
Yes this means I don't "own" my phone. I pay forty-something dollars every month for a phone for the rest of my life and that's fine. We're knee-deep in subscription hell anyway.
My justification used to be that I'm a mobile software product designer and I need the most recent iteration of the iPhone (and lesser of an extent for Android) to design around its latest features, screen size/technology, etc. But for the past 4 years that hasn't been true. App and web layouts are fluid and responsive and automatically adjust to any screen size you throw at it now. OLED is the new standard. There are no UI elements exclusive to the newest phone. So I'm just kind of stuck in a pattern. Every once and a while I'll skip a generation and feel good about it since there wasn't a big jump in tech and I was planning on skipping the 15, but omg, as a photographer also, 5x zoom has been a game changer.
In my opinion, what makes a better path, is allocating a separate segment of your net income to yearly Apple purchases. Whatever you have in the fund at the moment you wish to get an Apple toy, is the amount you can spend.
You may retort saying the monthly payment to T-Mobile is interest free. And to that point, I would agree. However, should you lose your job or have an unexpected health crisis, auto need, home repair, family emergency, you are still liable for that $50 / month payment, no matter the personal crisis. The carrier won‘t waste time turning over to collections if you have to miss payments. Conversely, if you take the avenue suggested should such an event or events ensue, you wouldn’t have a phone rental payment to worry about as you paid for your device using money you already had allocated. And should you decide to only upgrade when needed, the Apple fund grows and allows you to get 1 or more items or, use some or all of that fund towards the cost of another unexpected financial need.
Something to consider.
Instead of wasting money on e-bikes, scooters, ….
You see? It’s personal preference. For you, spending money on new iPhones is „wasting money“. To me, spending money on such things as scooters is the same - wasting money.
Live and let live - it’s not that hard. Spend your money on what YOU want and let others do the same. 😘
In the early days of smartphones yearly upgrades were impactful; then by the mid-to-late 2010s 2 year upgrade cycles made sense. I honestly think we're to the point where 3 year upgrade cycles make the most sense, if not longer. And for that, if you already have the appropriate plan to cash in on a $1000 over 3 years trade in credit for an iPhone then it makes total sense to do it. If you're going with a base model iPhone Pro you're basically getting a free phone (or a high end phone for a tiny percentage of the price).
Apple Intelligence is a weird one off. I get the sense Apple got caught flat footed by their stinginess on RAM for its iPhones, hence why AI goes back to the M1 on the Mac/iPad but not on the iPhone. I would say keep doing what you're doing; it's financially smart and you'll better appreciate the upgrades in three year increments moreso than annually.
100% agree. My husband and I upgrade every year on the Apple upgrade program because we want to, and we can. Every year there are posts with people twisting themselves into knots to justify why they, or someone else, should or shouldn't upgrade every year. Nobody needs to understand anyone else's reasoning, nor do they need to obtain anyone else's blessing.
Like many others I buy the new iPhone and sell the old one every year. Cost to own is the difference. Usually sell it to one of the many ‘recycle’ companies who usually offer fair prices.
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If you're already decided on the "subjective" reasons to upgrade yearly, then here's how I think about the considerations of most cost-effective way to do it. This all assumes you live in the US.
iPhone Upgrade Program vs Apple Card Monthly Installments (0% interest, payments spread over 24 months):
- To me, these are similar options assuming no other considerations credit wise. Both essentially give you monthly payments that effectively spread the cost of the phone over 2 years / 24 months
- If you did ACMI, you would either sell on secondary market or trade-in your phone to Apple after 1 year, use the proceeds to pay off the rest of the loan (most of the time, after 1 year, the newest iPhone's depreciation is less than 50% - with FMV probably hovering between 60% - 70% depending on condition, battery health, and whether you got an higher-storage-tier option, which usually has a worse % depreciation)
Aside: Sell on Secondary Market vs Trade-In to Apple:
- To me, best situation where trading-in to Apple makes sense is if you have the base model phone. Any storage upgrades get 0 credit from Apple (no change in trade-in value), so while it still might make sense, it makes less and less sense (all things equal) if you paid up for a higher storage tier
- Usually you can get more $ if you sell on secondary market. However, Ebay takes fees, Swappa takes less fees, and along with places like Facebook Marketplace, you have the potential / hassle factor of dealing and negotiating with potential buyers, maybe getting scammed/robbed, things getting lost/damaged in shipping if not local, etc. It's an individual case by case situation depending on the phone's condition and your own risk tolerance
- In many cases, especially if your phone is less than perfect (where selling yourself on secondary market would see a value hit), Apple Trade-In can make a lot of sense, given it's hassle-free and as long as the phones issues still clear Apple's relatively low bar of "full value trade-in"
Back to Upgrade Program vs ACMI..
- The Upgrade Program is basically akin to ACMI, but where Apple guarantees that the trade-in value of your phone is 50% of the new value. Almost always, the trade-in value (whether through Apple or through secondary market sale) will be higher... This has certainly been the case historically. So I personally think since Apple started offering ACMI via the Apple Care, it is effectively the same but slightly better than the iPhone Upgrade Program
Upgrading Through Your Carrier:
- As some ppl have said, many US carriers have pretty good upgrade programs where they give you discounts to upgrade your phone
- Most of the time, these are by way of monthly credits applied to your monthly bill (so you need to be set on staying with your carrier for the medium-term)
- Most of the time, this also means you have to be in or move to one of their higher-tier / premium priced plans
- There is a segment of people where these aren't issues for them (Eg. they need the highest tier plan anyways, and don't ever plan to move carriers for the foreseeable future), where this can be a better cost-effective way to upgrade yearly than doing directly with Apple
iPhone Upgrade Program vs Apple Card Monthly Installments (0% interest, payments spread over 24 months):
- To me, these are similar options assuming no other considerations credit wise. Both essentially give you monthly payments that effectively spread the cost of the phone over 2 years / 24 months
- If you did ACMI, you would either sell on secondary market or trade-in your phone to Apple after 1 year, use the proceeds to pay off the rest of the loan (most of the time, after 1 year, the newest iPhone's depreciation is less than 50% - with FMV probably hovering between 60% - 70% depending on condition, battery health, and whether you got an higher-storage-tier option, which usually has a worse % depreciation)
Aside: Sell on Secondary Market vs Trade-In to Apple:
- To me, best situation where trading-in to Apple makes sense is if you have the base model phone. Any storage upgrades get 0 credit from Apple (no change in trade-in value), so while it still might make sense, it makes less and less sense (all things equal) if you paid up for a higher storage tier
- Usually you can get more $ if you sell on secondary market. However, Ebay takes fees, Swappa takes less fees, and along with places like Facebook Marketplace, you have the potential / hassle factor of dealing and negotiating with potential buyers, maybe getting scammed/robbed, things getting lost/damaged in shipping if not local, etc. It's an individual case by case situation depending on the phone's condition and your own risk tolerance
- In many cases, especially if your phone is less than perfect (where selling yourself on secondary market would see a value hit), Apple Trade-In can make a lot of sense, given it's hassle-free and as long as the phones issues still clear Apple's relatively low bar of "full value trade-in"
Back to Upgrade Program vs ACMI..
- The Upgrade Program is basically akin to ACMI, but where Apple guarantees that the trade-in value of your phone is 50% of the new value. Almost always, the trade-in value (whether through Apple or through secondary market sale) will be higher... This has certainly been the case historically. So I personally think since Apple started offering ACMI via the Apple Care, it is effectively the same but slightly better than the iPhone Upgrade Program
Upgrading Through Your Carrier:
- As some ppl have said, many US carriers have pretty good upgrade programs where they give you discounts to upgrade your phone
- Most of the time, these are by way of monthly credits applied to your monthly bill (so you need to be set on staying with your carrier for the medium-term)
- Most of the time, this also means you have to be in or move to one of their higher-tier / premium priced plans
- There is a segment of people where these aren't issues for them (Eg. they need the highest tier plan anyways, and don't ever plan to move carriers for the foreseeable future), where this can be a better cost-effective way to upgrade yearly than doing directly with Apple
Great comment here and great that there are options for different people to take. Personally, I just go with the iPhone Upgrade Program every year. It's painless, seamless (99% of the time) and "worry-free".
I have been there, done that with the sell on secondary market schtick and it comes with risks and costs. 1) you have to baby your phone throughout the year. Any nick, scratch or ding can potentially cost you on resale. I want to enjoy using my phone. 2) Worried about scams, security etc when selling. Yes you can mitigate some of these but still its a hassle. 3) Fees if you sell on swappa, eBay etc. Can be mitigated but then you are contending with 2). I did this every year from iPhone 4 through 8 i think and just got tired. I think I hopped on iUP with the X or the model afterwards and never looked back.
Like someone said a few comments back - personal preference. These threads come up every year so nothing new here
I have been there, done that with the sell on secondary market schtick and it comes with risks and costs. 1) you have to baby your phone throughout the year. Any nick, scratch or ding can potentially cost you on resale. I want to enjoy using my phone. 2) Worried about scams, security etc when selling. Yes you can mitigate some of these but still its a hassle. 3) Fees if you sell on swappa, eBay etc. Can be mitigated but then you are contending with 2). I did this every year from iPhone 4 through 8 i think and just got tired. I think I hopped on iUP with the X or the model afterwards and never looked back.
Like someone said a few comments back - personal preference. These threads come up every year so nothing new here
This is exactly the kind of response I was looking for. Thank you so very much!
I don't understand the resistance to the iPhone Upgrade program. You get an unlocked handset, you get AppleCare for two years, and no interest. You can also pay off the device early if you want or just keep paying for two years. I do get the attractive Carrier specials as well where you can essentially upgrade for 'free' using monthly credits.
My issue is it requires you to have postpaid (rather than prepaid) service, I never buy AppleCare+, and it requires a hard credit check iirc. And I believe if Apple changes their release schedule, the timing doesn’t always align.
I know it’s not as seamless, especially if you need AppleCare+, but you can essentially do the same thing but for less money if you have an Apple Card. Apple Card monthly installments at 0% + Apple Trade-In. You save money not paying for AppleCare+ and get more money for the phone you trade in.
It's not a hard pull every year. See earlier in this thread.
How they deal will the release schedule not aligning is a BENEFIT to me. They have adjusted the payments when the phone for the year gets delayed. See this post from me in 2021 about the iPhone X, which was delayed.
Like @xxray said, to me, I think the Upgrade Program can make a lot of sense for certain people who want to upgrade each year. But I agree since Apple started offering 0% financing over 24 months via the Apple Card ("Apple Card Monthly Installments" is what they officially call it), it's more advantageous to do it over ACMI. This assumes you either already have the Apple Card, or don't have other credit-related issues why you don't want to apply for one
- Same effective 0% interest / monthly payments are TotalCost/24 months
- You can choose whether you want to buy AppleCare+ or not. As an aside, I personally like getting the monthly AppleCare+ plan, which I have for both my iPhone 15PM and my new M4 iPad Pro, which gives me good optionality for how long I want to keep for (often only for the first year)
- As @xxray said, even if you do Apple Trade-in (hassle-free), you're almost always getting more than 50% of the value back after 1 year, so you end up a little ahead in terms of $ (ie. effective monthly price for you is actually a bit lower than truly spreading the cost evenly over 24 months)
- I like that the "financing" is just a balance that stays on your Apple Card (at 0% interest), vs a separate loan (in the US, I think it's from Citizens Bank?)
- Both programs let you "keep the phone" for the same amount if you no longer want to upgrade - with the ACMI, it's just one step further, since you already technically own the phone, you're just financing it. Vs Upgrade Program, you're technically leasing the phone, and can "buyout the lease" if you want to keep it
I never bought Applecare since I'm not clumsy but I rather pay $460 to trade in my iPhone than $670 a year also I don't think most people who have Apple Care understand how it works. I assume they think once you pay for AppleCare and if anything happens Apple will just replace it for free. I've asked a few people and I told them there's a co-pay and they didn't know that.
Have been looking at the Apple upgrade program.. one thing that is nice about it is if you want to get apple care on it, you only have to pay monthly BUT the monthly rate seems to be based off the 2 year price. $199/24 months = $8.29/month vs 9.99. iPhone 15 Pro = 49.91/month on upgrade program = 1198 over 2 years, so $999 for phone and $199 for Apple Care. If you just but the phone and add apple care every month for 12 or 24 months it's $10/month. I mean it's kind of peanuts, saves you a whopping $20/year, but that's something. Almost like getting teh theft/loss for "free" if you wanted it
Yes, this is true, good point. I guess the "downside" is that with Upgrade Program, you can't drop just AppleCare+, whereas if you get it monthly for the slightly higher rate, you can.
True, gives you a bit more flexibility, and you have options to likely get higher trade in than apple upgrade program.... but I get the convenience aspect of it.
I'm likely just going to buy the phone outright when the 16's come out. I'm going back to carrying a personal phone and corporate issued iPhone. Want to keep the work and personal phone separate given how dependent we are on phones for 2 factor stuff, etc, and how current corp world will pretty much drop you like a hat whenever they want.
I do the Apple trade in every year and Apple has always given me the max amount. Easy and stress free.
You know I used to upgrade every year and each time it’s less and less…. Compelling. From iPhone 1 to iPhone XS Max i changed phones yesrly then stopped my upgrades. It’s just became dumb. So been an iPhone 13 mini user right now. Literally I went iPhone XS Max to 12 pro max. It was so disappointing i thought what the heck did i get rid of it, I just realized my use was the same from XS pro to 12 pro max I returned it for the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 13 mini. Now I love the mini form factor till it breaks. I’m staying with the mini with no plans. The 512gb storage stores my pics. It takes great videos that preserves my dogs pics.
However if anything I’m lowering my phone use, I just bought a Sony point and shoot for travel, and I am playing with the idea of a semi dumb phone like the light phone 3 when it comes out.
I go to a waiting room and I just see everyone on their phones it’s sad and I don’t want to be associated with that. There’s more to life than that. Hence why smartphones have become kind of lame to me
However if anything I’m lowering my phone use, I just bought a Sony point and shoot for travel, and I am playing with the idea of a semi dumb phone like the light phone 3 when it comes out.
I go to a waiting room and I just see everyone on their phones it’s sad and I don’t want to be associated with that. There’s more to life than that. Hence why smartphones have become kind of lame to me
I like keeping my devices, hence why my usual go-to plan is the every 2 years get a new phone plan that's been around ever since I got my first phone. I still have every phone Ive ever had except one... the last iPhone I had before I went to Android, which was an iPhone 6s, I still have the box for it but traded it in for the Galaxy S8 and after I did that since I've been buying my own devices, I made the vow to never trade in my devices again, for one to have a backup device if something was to happen and my warranty was "void" for some reason, and I bought the device I would rather store it away than give it away.
But to your point about the yearly upgrade if you have the extra income to do it every year or do the Apple Upgrade Program feel free to do it, if not do it every 2 years and save the money for the next new better thing than something that gets some minor upgrades... most people think there phones stop working after one year... newsflash these phone around today are better than those think...
But to your point about the yearly upgrade if you have the extra income to do it every year or do the Apple Upgrade Program feel free to do it, if not do it every 2 years and save the money for the next new better thing than something that gets some minor upgrades... most people think there phones stop working after one year... newsflash these phone around today are better than those think...