How I bought an almost top-tier iPhone 15 Pro Max 256GB for $5.5 per month on a 2-year installment plan (plus $72 in taxes) with a trade-in of a three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro Max 128GB.
Right after the Apple presentation, there was so much talk about whether it was worth buying the new model or not. About how Apple rips you off and all that stuff.
Here’s my experience. I had a dying iPhone 12 Pro Max. The battery lasted from morning until about 3 PM. That’s why I already bought two cases with built-in batteries, so it would last till the evening. It had an extremely slow screen response when even a drop of water hit the screen. It would only go back to normal after a thorough wipe. In light rain, I could only listen to YouTube from my pocket, and even then, it would glitch from moisture. And other small things. But it was an otherwise fine phone, I didn’t need to replace it. Only, replacing the battery was more expensive than getting a new phone.
AT&T took back my old three-year-old iPhone 12 Pro Max for $1000. I bought it from them in February 2021 for $1099. So, the new iPhone 15 Pro Max with a shelf price of $1199 only cost me $1199 – $1000 = $199 plus taxes (about $70). And these $199 were spread over three years, at $5.54 a month. Assuming that the average inflation rate remains at about 2.54%, as it has been over the last three years, for the next three years, installment payments knock the price down by about another $15.
Yes, I’ll have to stick with AT&T for another three years because the phone is locked to AT&T, but I’ve never really had a reason to leave AT&T, and maybe I won’t have one.
Yes, part the cost of the phone is included in the tariff. But the rate is such that whether you buy a phone or not. And at AT&T, the full unlimited plan is generally quite high—at $40 per line, including full unlimited roaming in any country for $10 per day for each day of phone use there. In the US overall, mobile service is expensive, and you can only get much cheaper than $40 by forgoing unlimited plans and such upgrade offers. For example, at T-Mobile, it would be around $35.
So if you’re already with AT&T and are paying for service anyway, upgrading your phone becomes nearly free. If you’re not with AT&T, the terms would be different (but still quite good).
What about Androids. Just compare two stores right now in one of the malls. Apple Store and Samsung. By the way, this Apple Store was the first one Apple opened some year.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 