“Wireless carriers are working hard to wean their customers off voice and data plans that subsidize the cost of new handsets,” Dwight Silverman writes for The Houston Chronicle. “Following T-Mobile’s lead, they’ve introduced plans that unbundle hardware so customers have to buy phones outright, or sign up for a payment plan separate from monthly service costs.”
“t the moment, Apple doesn’t sell via the carrier’s hardware payment plans. Instead, you must either buy the phone outright, use a subsidized plan or sign up for Apple’s own financing,” Silverman writes. “But that may be about to change. 9to5Mac reports that Apple is on the verge of offering financing from three carriers – AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. This will begin as a pilot program starting on Aug. 20.”
“The loss of carrier subsidies is going to have iPhone buyers thinking differently about how they pay for their new devices because the hardware costs are more visible,” Silverman writes. “While the iPhone 6 is expected to sell in huge numbers as pent-up demand for a larger handset is fulfilled, it’s possible that changes in carrier plans may impact sales somewhat, at least in the United States.”
Read more in the full article here.
