Competition can be a beautiful thing. Verizon this week announced a new iPhone upgrade program that will allow users to pay off their new iPhone in monthly installments. Under the new program, Verizon subscribers will be able to upgrade to a completely new iPhone model after just 12 monthly payments, provided that they trade-in their existing iPhone. The only overarching requirement is that half of the device’s full asking price must be paid off before a new phone will be handed out.
While Verizon previously allowed consumers to make month to month payments, that financing option was only available over the course of a two-year period, with no opportunity for users to upgrade early.
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It’s pretty clear that Verizon’s announcement, conveniently made the night before the iPhone 6s release, was made in response to both Sprint and T-Mobile offering increasingly enticing upgrade plans in an ongoing battle for consumer loyalty. Just yesterday, for instance, Sprint announced a $1/month upgrade program with a qualifying 16GB iPhone 6 trade-in.
In a press release announcing the new upgrade plan, Verizon explains:
If you’re not interested in upgrading, you still have the option to pay your phone off in 24 low monthly payments. That’s a better option than those “lease plans” offered by other companies, which can include surprise balloon payments just 18 months into your agreement, or ask you to turn over your phone without getting anything for it.
If you’re at all curious about what other carriers are offering in terms of iPhone upgrade and payment options, we’ve compiled a detailed overview on the topic that’s worth checking out.
Lastly, it’s worth pointing out that Apple is rolling out its own Phone upgrade program that will let users pay as little as $32/month for a new device and AppleCare+ coverage. As we covered previously, Apple getting into the upgrade game may prove to be extremely lucrative for the company as it will effectively shorten the iPhone refresh cycle by a full year for a good number of users.
