“When Apple Inc. unveils its next iPhone on Wednesday, the biggest update may be in how most consumers will pay for the device,” Thomas Gryta and Ryan Knutson report for The Wall Street Journal. “The days of the $200 upfront payment for the latest model are mostly over. Consumers now have a dizzying array of options for getting the new device, even if they aren’t thinking about switching wireless carriers.”
“Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. have leasing plans that can run as low as $15 a month. Verizon Communications Inc. recently stopped offering contract plans to new customers and expects that about 60% of its smartphone sales in the third quarter will be on installment purchase plans, up from 18% in the second quarter of 2014,” Gryta and Knutson report. “AT&T Inc. sold 68% of its iPhones on installment plans for the three months ended June 30.”
“Customers who have contracts and don’t want to switch carriers generally can still upgrade their iPhone for $200 at AT&T, Sprint or Verizon,” Gryta and Knutson report. “‘The whole idea is to play around with making things look cheap today,’ said Jean-Pierre H. Dubé, a marketing professor at University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business who has researched pricing. ‘Consumers just aren’t very good at anticipating the future cost,’ he said. ‘Either they don’t think of about it, or it is too complicated to calculate or they are just excited by what looks like a low price.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If so, expect the influx of Android to iPhone upgraders to accelerate even more.
SEE ALSO:
Nomura ups Apple to ‘Buy’ on strong iPhone growth, increasing Android switchers – July 31, 2015
Samsung will never overcome Apple’s advantage in mobile device profitability – July 30, 2015
Apple iPhone shipments show impressive growth as Samsung falls – July 30, 2015
Samsung offers downbeat outlook for year ahead of new Apple iPhones – July 30, 2015
Apple’s indomitable iPhone 6/Plus sales unfazed by Samsung’s anemic Galaxy S6/Edge – June 2, 2015
iPhone 6, killer: Beleaguered Samsung’s Galaxy S6 sales are a total disaster – May 22, 2015
Beleaguered Samsung reports 30 percent decline in operating profit – April 28, 2015
Samsung Galaxy S6 phones suffer weaker than expected sales in South Korea homeland – April 22, 2015
15 percent of Samsung Electronics execs quit amid profit slump – April 2, 2015
Significant Android to iPhone switching weakens market for Samsung Galaxy S6 – March 24, 2015
Apple iPhone takes smartphone market share from Android around the world – March 4, 2015
Poor man’s iPhone: Android on the decline – February 26, 2015
So it looks much cheaper to get rid of my unlimited data plan, like between 40-55% cheaper (40% if I don’t change my data usage habits, 55% if I stop streaming music and cut back on video).
Can anyone think of some reasons to continue holding onto this unlimited AT&T data plan that seems to carry a forever higher than necessary price? Or should I just switch to their new cheaper plans?
The whole idea of their cheaper plans is that it no longer factors in the cost of subsidizing your iPhone, but if I keep my unlimited plan and still pay full price ($949) for my next iPhone, then I don’t see the “it costs more to subsidize” logic that some of these MDN assholes keep arguing about.
rumor has it the iPhone 7 comes with a vaporizer built in?
hey , does it weedorize as well ? ? ? ?
me, watching the 2007 keynote 😉 he is playing around on stage… i love it !!!!!
the new hiPhone
californication is accomplished.
steve is about to return in a similar body, his name will be different though.
*i guess i should stop watching b.movies :/
And to answer your question, no, it doesn’t make sense to keep donating your money to AT&T.
There are many carriers (and plans) that offer unlimited data at lower price. T-Mobile, for example, gives you unlimited everything at $50 (plus the price of the phone). There are no overages, as it is all unlimited (talk/text/data). With the cheapest tier, you get throttling limit (1GB at 4G, the rest at EDGE), but for a four-line family plan, that limit goes to 2.5GB per line.
Sprint gives you unlimited all for $60 per month (no overages), and there are budget carriers (such as MetroPCS, Cricket, Boost, Tracfone, StraightTalk and similar) whose unlimited-all plans are even cheaper.
Continuing to pay for AT&T’s 10-year old unlimited data plan is insanity.
correct, but only because i do not buy one anymore. the #6 is great and has to run for 3 years, because i guess it should not be old at age of one!
i am waiting 2 more years for the ultimate headphones (virtual iphone built in/Siri;) with a holodeck app and the clip on case providing a powerful gayraygun to vaporize droidic invaders.
cu later on ft my friends (still does not provide conference, working on the new iChat though)
_________________________..,-
hope you enjoy todays pic event. @Tim: send the new Iphone to my home address, i am on holidays 🙂
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Who is Bertrand Serlet?
Who was Scotty again?
[what, too much irony?)
• 🙂
but flat design i do like.
the 2007 keynote is amazing. So is chris delia on netflix.