THE NEW NORMAL MEETS THE NEW iPHONE …
Can’t afford the new iPhone(s)? Sprint has got you covered. Days after Apple unveiled its latest version of the world’s most popular smart phone, the wireless provider unveiled a layaway plan to enable cash-strapped Americans to purchase the new devices.
Under Sprint’s “iPhone for Life” plan, users could purchase the new 4.7-inch iPhone 6 (the 16 GB model) for $20 a month over the next two years. The new 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus (also 16 GB) would be $25 a month over the same period.
“There are no out-of-pocket costs and the plan guarantees a new device every two years,” a release from the company states. “At the end of 24 months, customers in good standing can upgrade, purchase the leased phone or continue leasing on a month-to-month basis.”
For another $50 a month, users would receive unlimited data, talk and text for their spiffy new devices.
So … is this a plug for Sprint? No (our founding editor is a Verizon guy, actually … has been for years).
It’s simply a commentary on the extent to which the lingering economic downturn is forcing companies to be more aggressive in their financing. Most people simply don’t have the money to drop on a new device like this – even with the two-year deals.
What sort of numbers are we talking about?
With a two-year commitment, the 16 GB iPhone 6 costs $199 while the 16 GB iPhone 6 Plus costs $299. If you want a 64 GB iPhone 6, that’ll cost you $299 while a 128 GB model is $399. The Plus? It’s 64 GB model will run you $399 while its 128 GB model is $499 – again, with a two-year commitment to a wireless provider.
Without a contract, the prices basically triple. The iPhone 6 is $649 for the low-end 16 GB model, $749 for the 64 GB model and $849 for the 128 GB model. The iPhone 6 Plus is $749, $849 and $949, respectively.
Yeah … hence the financing.
Now the only question is whether there will be an “iPhone bubble?”
“And so the time has come to add Non-Performing iPhone Loans, or NPiLs, to the financial lexicon,” our friends at Zero Hedge noted this week. “Remember: it doesn’t matter if you actually have no money to buy your phone, as long as your phone tells the world that you have money .”
So true …
14 comments
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Yawn, you’ve been able to get “larger” android phones for for years.
Samsung is more of an industry leader than Apple anymore, and Samsung isn’t the only one making good Android phones.
Android also works much better with the Google suite.
Line up lemmings.
Verizon already has it where you can get iphone 6 for free by trading in your prior model iphone.
I’ll happily keep my Motorola Moto X for a few more years, paid $349.00 no contract directly from Motorola for the developer edition. I had a Galaxy Note II for work awhile back and hated the 5.5″ screen on a device I carried all the time. I have an iPad and it’s a good tablet but for a phone I feel iOS is too restrictive.
I once did some work for an upstart telecommunications company. In one of the initial meetings one of the execs said their customer base was made up of people who think they can afford an iPhone every month, but they can actually only afford one every other month. Gotta keep up with the Jones’.
Layaway – the customer does not receive the item until it is completely paid for.
This is another indication of the decline of America’s values. We can no longer tell the difference between borrowing and saving.
A true layaway program is a savings plan for a specific item that is reserved for the customer. The above plan is a loan program, in which you go into debt to receive the phone now. Layaway is postponed gratification, while this plan is immediate gratification and assuming debt. Fortunately, after brief research, Sprint doesn’t call it a layaway program.
Installment payments have little to do with the economy. This is simply a new business model and it isn’t just Sprint.
Have a company iPhone 5S. Pictures are an important part of my job and compared to Samsung Note 4 that I got my wife, the Note is waaaay superior. I also have a huge music collection, at last count, I have over 300 CDs plus maybe a hundred or so songs from iTunes. I’m a little torn now between the Pic quality and the 128 storage. Always open to tech opinions.
Look at the HTC One M8. It has 5-inch 1080p HD display, one of the best camera’s in the Smartphone arena (dual cameras for the rear) and will take a 128GB SD card. With 32GB of internal storage plus a 128GB SD card you’ve out classed the iPhone 6+ in every category except screen size as the M8 is only a 5″ screen.
They need to come out with a 4/4S/5S size phone, not everybody needs a tablet sized phone.
IDK about Sprint, but with AT&T, by the time I took my phone off the contract rate and got the $50 in discounts, then I’m pay $42 per month for the Iphone 6 plus with the 5.5 screen, I’m saving $8/month. When our second phone upgrades and we use the pay plan, then we’ll be paying about $30 month more for two new phones each year. Sounds cheaper than paying 200-400 per phone per year. So, it’s more a way for the phone companies to trap you into their network while giving the consumer savings for staying. Seems like a win-win. I don’t have to front the money and the phone bill only goes up a little. I leave, I pay the whole price for the phone.