Sprint expands 'iPhone for Life' plans with new 12-month lease option
Adding to its iPhone-specific incentives program, Sprint on Friday announced a new 12-month lease option for its "iPhone for Life" plan, which lets subscribers "rent" a new iPhone for a preset period instead of buying it.
Under the new terms, customers can upgrade their iPhone every 12 months, in line with Apple's usual annual product cycle. Sprint's new lease option is an update to the original 24-month "iPhone for life" program that debuted alongside the iPhone 6 in September.
Pricing is based on model and capacity, with a 16GB iPhone 6 coming in at $30 per month, while a 16GB iPhone 6 Plus costs $35 per month. This compares to $20 per month for a base model iPhone 6 and $25 per month for a 6 Plus on the 24-month iPhone for Life term.
"Consumers have told us they want the best value and the ability to upgrade their devices every year," said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. "Sprint delivers with its new 12-month lease offer, allowing customers to upgrade to the latest iPhone every year. The iPhone for Life Plan gives customers the lowest monthly cost in the industry for acquiring an iPhone. We are making it easy and affordable for consumers to get what they want."
Aside from freedom to upgrade, Sprint's plan also lets customers take home a new iPhone without putting down a lump sum payment. Following the lease period, subscribers can choose to purchase the device, continue to lease it on a month-to-month basis or return it.
Sprint intends to launch the new 12-month iPhone for Life plan on Nov. 14. The wireless carrier is also planning to make the iPhone 5s available for lease on that date, with prices starting at $18 per month for 24-months.
Under the new terms, customers can upgrade their iPhone every 12 months, in line with Apple's usual annual product cycle. Sprint's new lease option is an update to the original 24-month "iPhone for life" program that debuted alongside the iPhone 6 in September.
Pricing is based on model and capacity, with a 16GB iPhone 6 coming in at $30 per month, while a 16GB iPhone 6 Plus costs $35 per month. This compares to $20 per month for a base model iPhone 6 and $25 per month for a 6 Plus on the 24-month iPhone for Life term.
"Consumers have told us they want the best value and the ability to upgrade their devices every year," said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. "Sprint delivers with its new 12-month lease offer, allowing customers to upgrade to the latest iPhone every year. The iPhone for Life Plan gives customers the lowest monthly cost in the industry for acquiring an iPhone. We are making it easy and affordable for consumers to get what they want."
Aside from freedom to upgrade, Sprint's plan also lets customers take home a new iPhone without putting down a lump sum payment. Following the lease period, subscribers can choose to purchase the device, continue to lease it on a month-to-month basis or return it.
Sprint intends to launch the new 12-month iPhone for Life plan on Nov. 14. The wireless carrier is also planning to make the iPhone 5s available for lease on that date, with prices starting at $18 per month for 24-months.
Comments
The devices get recycled.
In what possible capacity. Plant a tree and make up for it.
To paraphrase George Carlin: The iPhone comes from the Earth. The Earth loves it. And one day, it will return to the Earth. And if it doesn't decompose, it will simply be Earth + iPhone.
I read this too fast and it came across as a punishment.
"At sprint our service coverage is criminal, so we sentence you to 12 months to life."
I've been with Sprint since the beginning of this year. I will admit, their service is pretty lousy. It reminds me of AT&T from about 6-8 years ago. I can't think of any instance I ever got close to 10 Mbps on an LTE speed test, and the roaming (on Verizon) has nearly zero data usage on this or the Framily Plan (note: unlimited while on SPRINT'S network... not roaming).
On the other hand, Sprint is very forgiving to those who have credit issues, requiring very little to get a device and service compared to the other big 3. Also, I'm loving the idea of unlimited everything for $45 per month on my Framily Plan. I put down $250 + tax on my iPhone 6 64 GB, and my payment is only $20.84, which isn't bad. I can also upgrade every year, since I have unlimited data on my plan. I had the option of only paying sales tax up front, but I wanted the lower monthly payment.
Sprint has a long way to go, but they're slowly getting there. They did have LTE in my area way before AT&T did, even though it's only comparable to AT&T's HSPA for speed (4-6 Mbps on average in my area). I'm hoping Sprint Spark gets here relatively soon, and maybe, just maybe, it'll help with the data speed issues.
I originally wanted to go with T-Mobile, but... they're extremely horrid in too many areas. I live in the largest city between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, and it's EDGE or nothing, baby. I tried it for 30 days once... I'd almost rather be on Sprint's 1x, that's even IF you can find signal around here.
I'm holding out for an 'iPhone for Death' plan. I want my iPhone buried with me, one can never be too blasé about these things.