iPhone Upgrade Program

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on iPhone Upgrade Program:

Apple preps subscription service for iPhone, Mac and more

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Apple preps subscription service for iPhone, Mac and more
Would you want to a Mac monthly subscription? What if it offered a new Mac every year?
Photo: Apple

Apple might soon give customers the option to get a Mac or other device with monthly fees, rather than paying the full cost up front. The company is working on a hardware subscription service, according to a reliable source.

Software subscriptions are common, but hardware is a different business. Even so, Apple has already dipped its toe into this market.

How to change credit card or bank account used by iPhone Upgrade Program

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How to change credit card or bank account used by iPhone Upgrade Program
If your Apple Card isn’t being used by the iPhone Upgrade Program, you’re losing out on 3% Daily Cash. Here’s how to change it.
Photo: Cult of Mac

The iPhone Upgrade Program enables people to get a new Apple handset every year and pay it off in monthly installments, interest free. The monthly payments come from a credit card or a bank account. It’s possible to change which one at any time.

Many people who used the Upgrade Program to get an iPhone 13 want to do this because a bug prevented an Apple Card from being used for this on the handset’s launch day.

Here’s how to switch to a new credit card or bank account for Apple’s installment plan.

How to get ready to pre-order iPhone 13 with the iPhone Upgrade Program

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How to get ready to pre-order iPhone 13 with the iPhone Upgrade Program
The iPhone Upgrade Program gets you a new model every year.
Graphic: Cult of Mac

The iPhone Upgrade Program is Apple’s equivalent of a carrier’s monthly contract. You can upgrade your iPhone every year, and pay a monthly fee instead of buying the handset outright. The upgrade path is simple — there’s a new iPhone every year, and you can upgrade every year.

Here’s how to get ready so you can be ready for iPhone 13 preorders this Friday. Don’t wait until the last minute.

Buy an iPhone interest-free with Apple Card

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Apple Card with iPhone
Buying an iPhone through an Apple Card just makes sense. And soon it can be done with zero interest.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple Card users can soon use this credit card to buy an iPhone with payments stretching over two years, but without incurring any interest.

It’s already possible to buy an iOS handset through the iPhone Upgrade Program, but this requires a separate loan.

Apple teams up with Alipay to boost iPhone sales in China

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iPhone XS box gold
Bag yours before they're all gone.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has joined forces with Alipay in an effort to boost iPhone sales in China.

iPhone fans can now bag one of the company’s latest handsets with up to two years of interest-free finance. The loan allows customers to swap the costly upfront fee for much more affordable monthly payments. It’s available on purchases of 4,000 yuan (approx. $595) or more.

How to buy iPhone XR on iPhone Upgrade Program if you own iPhone X

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iphone xs upgrade
An iPhone with mmWave 5G could be more than a year away.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone Upgrade Program is Apple’s equivalent of a carrier’s monthly contract. You can upgrade your iPhone every year, and pay a monthly fee instead of buying the handset outright. Usually, the upgrade path is simple — there’s a new iPhone every year, and you can upgrade every year. But the iPhone X came out on November 3, 2017, so iPhone Upgrade Program participants still have at least a couple of weeks left to run on their contracts.

So how do you get the colorful iPhone XR you’re craving on launch day?

iPhone Upgrade Program users can start process of getting iPhone XR today

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iPhone Upgrade Program 2
It's like being a celebrity whisked through the pre-order process.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XR, the handset which scored the main event spot in Apple’s most recent media event, opens up for pre-orders this Friday. However, if you’re a loyal enough Apple fan to be a member of its iPhone Upgrade Program, you can begin the process of getting your hands on an iPhone XR today.

That’s due to a pre-approval feature, which will speed you through Friday’s checkout process like a celebrity being ushered through airport security.

iPhone Upgrade Program welcomes T-Mobile customers online

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iPhone X on its box
iPhone X finally hits Apple's refurbished section.
Photo: Apple

T-Mobile customers can now sign up to the iPhone Upgrade Program online — just in time for Apple’s big 2018 upgrades.

Online enrollment was previously available to those on AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon, while T-Mobile subscribers were forced to visit their local Apple Store. The process will be a little easier for those looking to buy a new iPhone this fall.

The best ways to buy an unlocked iPhone X

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iPhone X
Don't lock yourself to a carrier -- buy your iPhone X from Apple instead.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It might not seem like it at the time, but buying an iPhone for full price upfront is probably the cheapest option. Swallowing the $1,000 purchase price of an unlocked iPhone X isn’t easy. However, you won’t wind up tied to carrier contracts that trap you for a year or two. Plus, you can pick a cheap, $10-per-month prepaid data plan instead.

In the European Union, Apple sells unlocked phones from the get-go. If you buy a new iPhone from Apple on launch day, it will not come tied to a carrier. In the United States, SIM-free iPhones usually go on sale a few weeks after launch.

Today we’ll look at how and where you can buy a SIM-free, unlocked iPhone.

How to buy iPhone X without breaking the bank

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iPhone X on its box
iPhone X finally hits Apple's refurbished section.
Photo: Apple

iPhone X is Apple’s most expensive smartphone to date, with the cheapest 64GB model priced at $999, and the 256GB model priced at $1,149.

That’s $50 more than a 21-inch iMac. However, you don’t have to go hungry for the next few months to afford one. Here’s how to save money and get your hands on iPhone X without breaking the bank.

Apple Prime? Here’s why it might be a great idea

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money
Would an Amazon Prime-style service work for Apple?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple should take a note out of Jeff Bezos’ playbook and launch an Amazon Prime-style subscription service, claims an analyst for Goldman Sachs.

“We think Apple should launch a subscription bundle as a way to reinforce iPhone loyalty and leverage it into content,” Simona Jankowski writes in a new note to clients. In the brief, Jankowski and colleagues ponder the potential of a $50 monthly subscription that would get customers the latest iPhone plus other services like Apple TV, Apple Music and freemium access to the iTunes library.

Samsung steals iPhone’s Upgrade Program for Galaxy S7

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samsung-steals-iphones-upgrade-program-for-galaxy-s7-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads2016024_vr-homepage-desktop-size-a-letterbox-v1-jpg
Apple doesn’t charge you interest, but Samsung does.
Photo: Samsung
Apple doesn't charge you interest, but Samsung does. Photo: Samsung
Apple doesn’t charge you interest, but Samsung does. Photo: Samsung

Samsung has launched its own Upgrade Program alongside the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge to make it easier for fans to get their hands on its latest devices.

It comes in response to Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program, but it’s nowhere near as good.

Apple lets you trade in broken iPhones

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Apple's new trade-in program won't discriminate against cracked iPhones.
Photo: Faris Algosaibi/Flickr CC

Apple is rolling out several new programs in its retail store locations that will give credit for iPhones with pretty severe damage, according to a report. The program will allow customers with a cracked screen, damaged buttons or damaged cameras to trade in their faulty device without issue. Apple previously wouldn’t accept this kind of damage in its Reuse and Recycle trade-in program.

Samsung to copy iPhone Upgrade Program to stop switchers

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samsung-to-copy-iphone-upgrade-program-to-stop-switchers-image-cultofandroidcomwp-contentuploads201511Galaxy-S6-cam-jpg
Samsung doesn't want you to commit to Apple. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Samsung doesn’t want you to commit to Apple. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android

Samsung is reportedly planning to launch its own upgrade program to give Galaxy smartphone fans an easy and more affordable route to its latest devices.

The move would be a direct response to Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program, and could prevent long-time users from making the switch to iOS.

Gene Munster admits he got Apple all wrong (again)

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iPhone 6S
The iPhone Upgrade Program could be a monster hit for Apple.
Photo: Buster Hein/Cult of Mac

Hit-and-miss Apple analyst Gene Munster has admitted he couldn’t have been more wrong about the likely customer uptake of Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program, the $32+ per month scheme designed to get new iPhones into the hands of people happy to pay a monthly fee to Apple.

Apple doesn’t need glitz and glamour when it’s got the goods

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Haters gonna hate, but we’re giving Apple’s latest product revelations a big thumbs up.
Haters gonna hate, but we’re giving Apple’s latest product revelations a big thumbs up.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Wow. That was a big deal. For a mere “s” upgrade, Apple went way above and beyond with today’s big product showcase. Three major product lines have been not just upgraded, but reinvented, and finally there’s a reason to buy the one that has been languishing — the Apple TV, which is now a gaming console as well as an entertainment center.

Maybe I’ve drunk too much Kool-Aid, but I thought this morning’s presentation was one for the history books.

Apple’s new upgrade program will keep you addicted to iPhone

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The iPhone Upgrade Plan lets you have an iPhone forever.
The iPhone Upgrade Plan lets you have an iPhone forever.
Photo: Apple

Apple is planning to make it easier than ever to stay addicted to the iPhone with the introduction of its new iPhone Upgrade Program that will allow fans to upgrade to a new device every single year.

Phil Schiller announced the new program on stage at Apple’s keynote today, revealing that pricing for the iPhone Upgrade Program starts at $32 per month, which is slightly more expensive than what you can get at a carrier, but it comes with some extra benefits too.