“The big wireless carriers may have curbed their price wars over the summer, but thanks to Apple, they’re suddenly getting aggressive about iPhone prices,” Aaron Pressman reports for Yahoo Finance. “T-Mobile CEO John Legere took to his blog on Thursday to announce that customers could get an iPhone 6S on his company’s Jump on Demand upgrade program for only $20 a month. Sprint says its customers can pay as little as $15 per month for the new iPhone if they trade in their old phone (otherwise it’s $22 monthly). Both offers allow customers to trade in their 6S for next year’s new Apple model at no additional charge.”
“Those prices undercut AT&T and Verizon’s current monthly prices for iPhones, which generally start at $27 a month for two-year plans without upgrade rights, as well as Apple’s own brand new installment payment and upgrade plan offerings,” Pressman reports. “Of course, customers get to keep their old phones at the end of two years on those plans — the upgrade plans require that the old phones be returned to the carrier. There should be more news soon. AT&T is expected to come out with a new iPhone offer imminently, while Verizon has reportedly already been emailing some customers with early upgrade offers.”
“The carriers and Apple plan to resell all the used phones that customers on the upgrade plans trade in. And that complicates the equation a bit for consumers, since sales of all those used iPhones could depress prices in the future. That would hurt anyone who planned to recoup their investment in an iPhone, as well as the carriers and Apple.
“That’s a real risk at some point in future, because there’s an eventual ceiling on how mane people want to buy refurbed devices,” says Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research. ‘This is a big potential future issue,'” Pressman reports. “Apple and the carriers might have to raise prices for the upgrade plans and cut back on promotions if they don’t recoup as much money as expected from sales of used iPhones. But until then, expect more deals as iPhone upgrade excitement grows to a fever pitch in coming weeks.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The more competition, the better!
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program expected to drive annual demand for new iPhones – September 10, 2015
Apple’s annual iPhone Upgrade Plan is a game-changer – September 10, 2015
Apple takes aim at the carriers with annual iPhone Upgrade Program – September 10, 2015
How Apple’s annual iPhone Upgrade Program works and how much it costs – September 9, 2015