For many years, Apple’s new iPhone pricing scheme seemed to be determined well in advance of the actual launch event, at least in the United States. For $199 you’d get a shiny new 16GB new iPhone, provided you signed a new two-year contract with a carrier. However, T-Mobile changed all that by challenging rivals to stop using contract pricing to lure in new customers. By replacing traditional subsidized offers with installment plans coupled with lower monthly bills, T-Mobile started a smartphone pricing revolution that’ll also affect the iPhone 6s Apple plans to announce today.
Apple has long been able to sell its iPhone as cheaply as $199, so it’ll be interesting to see what pricing the company will use for the base model during its media event, now that most carriers have payment plans starting at $0 down. Regardless of how Apple chooses to market the phone, the fact remains that buying a new iPhone can be quite puzzling for some customers, so the following chart should come in handy.
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Created by The Wall Street Journal, the image above paints a general picture of the U.S. mobile landscape regarding 16GB iPhone 6s purchase options. Users get to choose between on-contract and off-contract options, and they get to decide whether they want to own or rent the new handset.
That said, the entry-level iPhone 6s is likely to have the same full price as its predecessor, no matter how you choose to buy it: $649.
