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Why Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program Is a Bad Deal For Most
Mark Wilson writes: You may have heard that Apple had a little get together today. There were lots of big launches — the iPhone 6S, the iPhone 6S Plus, and the iPad Pro. Those waiting for an iPhone fix were given quite a lot of get excited about, but like your friendly local drug dealer, Apple has a 'sweetener' to help ensure its customers just keep on coming back for more: the iPhone Upgrade Program which lets you upgrade to a new iPhone every year as long as you keep paying each month. On the face of it, it might seem like a good deal — particularly as the price includes Apple Care — but is that really the case? What Apple's actually doing is feeding the habit of iPhone junkies, keeping their addiction going a little bit longer, and a little bit longer, and a little bit longer. In reality, Apple would like you to perma-rent your iPhone and keep paying through the nose for it. Ideally forever.
I sell my phone every 18 months. Technology is moving fast.
It's closer to break even (with AppleCare) than you might suspect; the variance will be on the policies around damage, wear, replacement, etc.
Also consider the out of pocket on taxes - my 128GB phone cost me around $1000 out the door here in Canada. (15%)
I think it's ~$20/mo depreciation over a 2 year period vs. $34/mo they're taking, but my time is worth something, and if they make it headache free - it's not as crazy as it might seem at first when you run the numbers. I'm already paying $120/mo all in for service - yay Canada.
Over 4 years? The depreciation is very high - it's stupid to keep the phone this long if you want a new one.
If things get so grim $14/mo is a problem, no, this service isn't for you - but it's not as crazy as you might first think. I'll probably take them up if the price differential isn't too crazy here over the US.
..don't panic
For someone who knows that -- without a doubt -- they will upgrade to whatever new iPhone comes out in a year's time, and they're confident that they'd definitely take out Apple Care, it amounts to a saving of a few dollars over two years.
This is just another pointless article by a hater, he doesn't even agree with himself. It's bait, and not even good bait, he throws a few numbers out there but doesn't show us any actual cost comparison between using the upgrade program Apple offers and, say, paying full retail or taking advantage of other upgrade programs offered by the service providers. Indeed, he even states that you can save money using the program while complaining that you're just sending more to Apple. There's no substance to the article, no facts to back up all of his complaining about the bad upgrade deal. He's probably just sour he's already in a contract and can't dump his outdated phone to take advantage of the new program. This article is just one of the many new additions to the pointless Apple hate on the internet we'll be seeing now that they've announced another upgrade to their mobile product line.
Just a quick disclaimer, since a bunch of you will no doubt label me a fanboy, I use Apple AND Android products, they both have different advantages and disadvantages. I find myself defending Apple products most often though because for some reason there's this strange hate towards them from people who don't use them, as if we should all be that worried about what phone other people are using...
Phones are different than computers, yet people still try to apply the computer mentality to it. You don't just buy a smartphone and sit back and use it until it breaks. Unlike Windows XP, your smartphone OS has a very limited window in which it will receive security and other software updates. For iPhones, it seems to be a few years. For Android, it is worse and generally always less than two years. For some of the discount Android phones on discount carriers, the phone may have been abandoned before you even made the purchase!
In what world do you buy a smartphone and use it for the rest of your life? An upgrade plan that includes Apple Care "bad for most"? Hint to the author: You can't extrapolate your personal opinion to apply to the rest of the world.
Nothing spells "success" like 6S. Others might say that spells "sucks ass", but to each their own.
"Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
Personally I'm OK with paying for a music subscription. There's so much music out there, that I couldn't hope to own even a tiny fraction of the good stuff if I was buying everything by the album. Music services cost about $10 a month. For that I'd be lucky if I could buy a single album every month. After 10 years of buying 1 album a month, I would still only have 120 albums. That's a pretty small selection of music as far as I'm concerned. Esepcially when you consider that you wouldn't always select the best option 100% of the time. After 10 years, probably only 80% (96) of the albums would be worth listening to. And that's being generous as far as how good I am at picking up albums. Then there's the problem of multiple good albums coming out in the same month. Do you buy 3 albums one month, and spend a lot of money, leaving you with no new albums for the next 2 months? Or you could just pay $10 and have access to just about everything.
Right now, my only complaint is that they don't have absolutely everything. I think there would be a decent market for a service that cost $20 and had absolutely everything, but the music labels won't let that happen. It would probably even be a good deal at $30. Same goes for Netflix. I would probably pay many more times the current rate if they had everything. $40 or $50. Most people were/are paying more than that for cable already, and they still weren't getting everything.
I think that all media bought on subscription is a pretty good deal, provided it makes it cheaper to access more. Personally I don't ever tend to read a book more than once, because it takes so much more time than any other kind of media, and there's just so much good content out there. I really don't see any value in owning a book.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
It is got nothing to do with renting, or brand loyalty, iphone users are one of the most loyal. It is about killing the 2nd hand market.
It's called leasing
I know independent contractors in Canada who'd rather rent their car and computer because the cost is 100% deductible on the first year. Buying thing means dealing with depreciation and getting your tax break later.
ID: the nose did not occur naturally, how would we wear glasses otherwise? (apologies to Voltaire)