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      09-13-2019, 08:55 AM   #85
dinonz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagob5 View Post
Sure - YMMV however I'll use the lowest monthly payment you mentioned of $60 / mo for this example. I'll also use the XS MAX 256GB price point of $1250, since I believe that's likely the most popular model.

Looking into 3 year costs of the "lease" - $60/mo = $720 a year. Assuming you upgrade every year using this model and your monthly stays the same - $720 x 3 = $2160

Now lets buy a new iPhone at $1250. Assuming this cost stays the same over the 3 years of our example, you sell your old phone for $800 (may be less, may be more but using what I think is the realistic lower value here just to make my point) and pay the $450 in upgrade costs. In 3 years time you pay $1250 + $450 + $450 = $2150.

Now this may not seem like a big difference but your saving go up by the amount of $720 minus the difference of your upgrade cost each year - in this example $270.

In my real use case example, I bought a brand new unlocked XS MAX 512gb ast year 2 weeks after launch for $1100. I sold my X for $800 - so my cost to upgrade was $300. I can now sell that phone for about $850 - 1000, so lets settle at $900 and upgrade to the 11 Pro 256GB for $350. By waiting until I can find one used a week or two after launch, I bring down that difference even further.
I think your whole view of Apple monthly payment is way off. For starters, the monthly payment for the 11 Pro 512GB (the biggest you can get) is $56.20 for 24 months, which comes to $1348.8 total - which is actually $0.20 cheaper than buying it outright for $1349.

That's why the comment about "the most expensive way to buy an iPhone" was incorrect.
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