Apple begins taking pre-orders for iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 40
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    mike1 said:
    mike1 said:
    iPhone Pro, blue, 128GB. Seamless process: prepped order last nite, completed a minute after the hour. 

    I’m on AT&T, and selected to have it activated, but using Apple Card payments. AT&T still charges a $30 “upgrade fee” which I do not like. Not sure if you can avoid this by selecting no carrier (unlocked, no sim) and activating it later, or if they’d still charge you the same fee but later. 

    Also picked up a MagSafe case and wallet to try out. Case comes in next week but the wallets are delayed until mid November. 
    I hate this too. No. They'll nail you for the $30, when you do activate it. It'll be a charge on your bill.
    Same phone for me.I did it through the AT&T installment plan anyway because the $800 credit means I am only paying $6.60/month for the phone after trading in my X.

    But you also pay AT&Ts high service charges too for voice and data.  Pretty lousy for any carrier to charge an activation fee when you are already a customer.  That’s why I dumped them and only pay $45/month for unlimited with Spectrum Mobile, which uses Verizon’s network.  How did you get $800 credit for an iPhone X?  Was that an incentive to be locked in for 2-3 years?

    The new Unlimited plans are as reasonable as anything else I've seen. With discounts, I'm paying $35/mo. per line for the Elite plan on three lines and $30/mo. on two others, An improvement for me from my previous plan as I now get a personal hotspot which I never had before and it is a bit less per month.

    Click through the AT&T offer on the Apple page. Any phone that has a trade in value of $95 or more gets you $800 in monthly bill credits effectively making the phone $6.64/month. Yes, I will be locked in for 30 months.
    Interesting to know.  Are the other discounts because you have other services through them, like TV?  When we had AT&T two years ago, they were charging about $60 a month per phone, plus all their other so called fees and taxes.  Their TV service and internet service is abysmal compared to cable for internet, so I wasn’t doing any bundled discounts through them.  But if the service works well for you, at least you aren’t getting reamed on the wireless fees.  
    Link below. We qualify for the $10/month Signature discount on the lines I set up with the Elite plan, thanks to my wife's employer. 
    HBO Max and Hotspot are included. Of course there are the requisite fees and taxes on top of that, but there always is.



  • Reply 22 of 40
    Glad to see that you can now purchase a new iPhone on day one without having to be a subscriber to one of the big three cellphone companies.
    But why the heck would you buy a phone locked to a cellphone company if there is an unlocked phone available for the same price?
    retrogustoJaphey
  • Reply 23 of 40
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    Glad to see that you can now purchase a new iPhone on day one without having to be a subscriber to one of the big three cellphone companies.
    But why the heck would you buy a phone locked to a cellphone company if there is an unlocked phone available for the same price?
    If you buy from Apple, the phone is only locked if you use the phone company's installment plan. Otherwise, it's unlocked as stated on the Apple site.
    bageljoeyStrangeDaystechconcRayz2016GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 24 of 40
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    iPhone Pro, blue, 128GB. Seamless process: prepped order last nite, completed a minute after the hour. 

    I’m on AT&T, and selected to have it activated, but using Apple Card payments. AT&T still charges a $30 “upgrade fee” which I do not like. Not sure if you can avoid this by selecting no carrier (unlocked, no sim) and activating it later, or if they’d still charge you the same fee but later. 

    Also picked up a MagSafe case and wallet to try out. Case comes in next week but the wallets are delayed until mid November. 
    That was as innovative as AirPower!
  • Reply 25 of 40
    Glad to see that you can now purchase a new iPhone on day one without having to be a subscriber to one of the big three cellphone companies.
    But why the heck would you buy a phone locked to a cellphone company if there is an unlocked phone available for the same price?
    You wouldn't--unless there is a sweetheart deal to trade in an old phone and get way more than market value.  I just dumped my AT&T plan and switched to T-Mobile.  They are giving me $680 for an old iPhone 8.  That's worth a 30-month commitment in my book (my family has been on T-Mobile for a few years so it's fine where I am).

    But yeah, the last time around I just bought an unlocked iPhone straight from Apple.  The deals are too good this time around.
  • Reply 26 of 40
    mike1 said:
    Glad to see that you can now purchase a new iPhone on day one without having to be a subscriber to one of the big three cellphone companies.
    But why the heck would you buy a phone locked to a cellphone company if there is an unlocked phone available for the same price?
    If you buy from Apple, the phone is only locked if you use the phone company's installment plan. Otherwise, it's unlocked as stated on the Apple site.
    But you are still 'locked in' until you pay off the phone over a period of years.  It might not be locked to a carrier, but you don't own the phone.  But yes, his point was more specific to being locked to a carrier.  We did payment plans on our iPhone X models with AT&T and when we were a few months away of paying them off, we paid them off early and unlocked them through AT&Ts website and switched to Spectrum Mobile.  So I bought the SIM-free version of the iPhone 12 Pro because I can transfer my SIM card and not pay any activation fees.  It is unlocked, and I own the phone.
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 27 of 40

    mike1 said:
    mike1 said:
    mike1 said:
    iPhone Pro, blue, 128GB. Seamless process: prepped order last nite, completed a minute after the hour. 

    I’m on AT&T, and selected to have it activated, but using Apple Card payments. AT&T still charges a $30 “upgrade fee” which I do not like. Not sure if you can avoid this by selecting no carrier (unlocked, no sim) and activating it later, or if they’d still charge you the same fee but later. 

    Also picked up a MagSafe case and wallet to try out. Case comes in next week but the wallets are delayed until mid November. 
    I hate this too. No. They'll nail you for the $30, when you do activate it. It'll be a charge on your bill.
    Same phone for me.I did it through the AT&T installment plan anyway because the $800 credit means I am only paying $6.60/month for the phone after trading in my X.

    But you also pay AT&Ts high service charges too for voice and data.  Pretty lousy for any carrier to charge an activation fee when you are already a customer.  That’s why I dumped them and only pay $45/month for unlimited with Spectrum Mobile, which uses Verizon’s network.  How did you get $800 credit for an iPhone X?  Was that an incentive to be locked in for 2-3 years?

    The new Unlimited plans are as reasonable as anything else I've seen. With discounts, I'm paying $35/mo. per line for the Elite plan on three lines and $30/mo. on two others, An improvement for me from my previous plan as I now get a personal hotspot which I never had before and it is a bit less per month.

    Click through the AT&T offer on the Apple page. Any phone that has a trade in value of $95 or more gets you $800 in monthly bill credits effectively making the phone $6.64/month. Yes, I will be locked in for 30 months.
    Interesting to know.  Are the other discounts because you have other services through them, like TV?  When we had AT&T two years ago, they were charging about $60 a month per phone, plus all their other so called fees and taxes.  Their TV service and internet service is abysmal compared to cable for internet, so I wasn’t doing any bundled discounts through them.  But if the service works well for you, at least you aren’t getting reamed on the wireless fees.  
    Link below. We qualify for the $10/month Signature discount on the lines I set up with the Elite plan, thanks to my wife's employer. 
    HBO Max and Hotspot are included. Of course there are the requisite fees and taxes on top of that, but there always is.



    Oh, so you were able to take advantage of some discounts through your wife's employer.  That is a great deal in your case.  Don't blame you for taking advantage of that.  With Spectrum Mobile, they use Verizon's network and I only pay $45 per line unlimited, and no fees, taxes, or hidden charges.  A benefit of being a Spectrum customer.  I hear Cricket is another great provider for inexpensive service and they use AT&Ts network.
  • Reply 28 of 40
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    mike1 said:
    Glad to see that you can now purchase a new iPhone on day one without having to be a subscriber to one of the big three cellphone companies.
    But why the heck would you buy a phone locked to a cellphone company if there is an unlocked phone available for the same price?
    If you buy from Apple, the phone is only locked if you use the phone company's installment plan. Otherwise, it's unlocked as stated on the Apple site.
    But you are still 'locked in' until you pay off the phone over a period of years.  It might not be locked to a carrier, but you don't own the phone.  But yes, his point was more specific to being locked to a carrier.  We did payment plans on our iPhone X models with AT&T and when we were a few months away of paying them off, we paid them off early and unlocked them through AT&Ts website and switched to Spectrum Mobile.  So I bought the SIM-free version of the iPhone 12 Pro because I can transfer my SIM card and not pay any activation fees.  It is unlocked, and I own the phone.
    This difference is pointless. When people say “unlocked” they mean a handset that can travel to multiple carrier networks, which is more valuable. I’ve never heard anyone suggest it has anything to do with the terms of financing. When you buy from Apple with an Apple Card it’s your phone, you own it, you’re just using a credit card. If you bought a stereo at Best Buy using a credit card you wouldn’t say “you don’t own it”. Of course you do. The relationship with the credit card issuer is separate. 
    spock1234
  • Reply 29 of 40
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    mike1 said:
    iPhone Pro, blue, 128GB. Seamless process: prepped order last nite, completed a minute after the hour. 

    I’m on AT&T, and selected to have it activated, but using Apple Card payments. AT&T still charges a $30 “upgrade fee” which I do not like. Not sure if you can avoid this by selecting no carrier (unlocked, no sim) and activating it later, or if they’d still charge you the same fee but later. 

    Also picked up a MagSafe case and wallet to try out. Case comes in next week but the wallets are delayed until mid November. 
    I hate this too. No. They'll nail you for the $30, when you do activate it. It'll be a charge on your bill.
    Same phone for me.I did it through the AT&T installment plan anyway because the $800 credit means I am only paying $6.60/month for the phone after trading in my X.

    But you also pay AT&Ts high service charges too for voice and data.  Pretty lousy for any carrier to charge an activation fee when you are already a customer.  That’s why I dumped them and only pay $45/month for unlimited with Spectrum Mobile, which uses Verizon’s network.  How did you get $800 credit for an iPhone X?  Was that an incentive to be locked in for 2-3 years?

    Aren't they the same con men selling 4G and calling it 5G?

    Why would anybody pay more to get less?
  • Reply 30 of 40
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    mike1 said:
    mike1 said:
    iPhone Pro, blue, 128GB. Seamless process: prepped order last nite, completed a minute after the hour. 

    I’m on AT&T, and selected to have it activated, but using Apple Card payments. AT&T still charges a $30 “upgrade fee” which I do not like. Not sure if you can avoid this by selecting no carrier (unlocked, no sim) and activating it later, or if they’d still charge you the same fee but later. 

    Also picked up a MagSafe case and wallet to try out. Case comes in next week but the wallets are delayed until mid November. 
    I hate this too. No. They'll nail you for the $30, when you do activate it. It'll be a charge on your bill.
    Same phone for me.I did it through the AT&T installment plan anyway because the $800 credit means I am only paying $6.60/month for the phone after trading in my X.

    But you also pay AT&Ts high service charges too for voice and data.  Pretty lousy for any carrier to charge an activation fee when you are already a customer.  That’s why I dumped them and only pay $45/month for unlimited with Spectrum Mobile, which uses Verizon’s network.  How did you get $800 credit for an iPhone X?  Was that an incentive to be locked in for 2-3 years?

    The new Unlimited plans are as reasonable as anything else I've seen. With discounts, I'm paying $35/mo. per line for the Elite plan on three lines and $30/mo. on two others, An improvement for me from my previous plan as I now get a personal hotspot which I never had before and it is a bit less per month.

    Click through the AT&T offer on the Apple page. Any phone that has a trade in value of $95 or more gets you $800 in monthly bill credits effectively making the phone $6.64/month. Yes, I will be locked in for 30 months.

    AT&T perfected that scam years ago -- they roll the cost of the phone into the cost of the plan and then tell you that you're not paying for the phone.
    They were my original carrier but, when I bought a new phone at the Apple store I asked them how much my plan would go down after I replaced the 2 year phone I had financed through them.   Their answer?   Not a dime.   Not a penny!    My answer?   Good bye!

    I consider a vendor as a business partner.  And I don't like doing business with partners I can't trust.
    spock1234
  • Reply 31 of 40
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Glad to see that you can now purchase a new iPhone on day one without having to be a subscriber to one of the big three cellphone companies.
    But why the heck would you buy a phone locked to a cellphone company if there is an unlocked phone available for the same price?

    In Apple's order section, under the carrier selection, they say:
    "All iPhone models are unlocked except those purchased with AT&T Installment Plans."


  • Reply 32 of 40
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    mike1 said:
    Glad to see that you can now purchase a new iPhone on day one without having to be a subscriber to one of the big three cellphone companies.
    But why the heck would you buy a phone locked to a cellphone company if there is an unlocked phone available for the same price?
    If you buy from Apple, the phone is only locked if you use the phone company's installment plan. Otherwise, it's unlocked as stated on the Apple site.
    But you are still 'locked in' until you pay off the phone over a period of years.  It might not be locked to a carrier, but you don't own the phone.  But yes, his point was more specific to being locked to a carrier.  We did payment plans on our iPhone X models with AT&T and when we were a few months away of paying them off, we paid them off early and unlocked them through AT&Ts website and switched to Spectrum Mobile.  So I bought the SIM-free version of the iPhone 12 Pro because I can transfer my SIM card and not pay any activation fees.  It is unlocked, and I own the phone.

    I ended up doing the same.
    But only after talking to several AT&T people both over the phone and in the store.   My question to them was:  
    "Since I paid off the phone why not reduce the amount of my bill?   Do you want to lose a customer?   Why would I keep paying for a phone that I already paid for?"

    Their answer:   You never paid for the phone.   It was free.
    My answer:   "Bullshit!  Good bye!"
  • Reply 33 of 40
    Beware!  AT&T's deal is a very bad deal if you think you'll upgrade again prior to the end of their promo's 30-month term.  Typical trade-in upgrade programs apply the value of your trade in to reduce the cost of your new iPhone-- and you pay the net balance in monthly installments.  But read the full terms of AT&Ts new offer and you'll see they don't make clear that they take your required trade-in and pay you its value as a monthly billing credit over 30 months.  And, in a separate track, they charge you the full retail price of the new iPhone also over 30 months.  Cancel anytime sooner than 30 months (for example, let's say you want to upgrade again 12 months from now) and everything is stacked in their favor:  you will forfeit the remaining "un-reimbursed" value of your trade-in plus you will pay the remaining unpaid balance of your full-retail-priced iPhone. 
    edited October 2020 GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 34 of 40
    mike1 said:
    Glad to see that you can now purchase a new iPhone on day one without having to be a subscriber to one of the big three cellphone companies.
    But why the heck would you buy a phone locked to a cellphone company if there is an unlocked phone available for the same price?
    If you buy from Apple, the phone is only locked if you use the phone company's installment plan. Otherwise, it's unlocked as stated on the Apple site.
    But you are still 'locked in' until you pay off the phone over a period of years.  It might not be locked to a carrier, but you don't own the phone.  But yes, his point was more specific to being locked to a carrier.  We did payment plans on our iPhone X models with AT&T and when we were a few months away of paying them off, we paid them off early and unlocked them through AT&Ts website and switched to Spectrum Mobile.  So I bought the SIM-free version of the iPhone 12 Pro because I can transfer my SIM card and not pay any activation fees.  It is unlocked, and I own the phone.
    The iPhone upgrade program makes the most sense if you buy new every year. I’ve been getting a new phone every release. I normally get 500-600 for my previous model. With the upgrade program, I pay half what I normally pay, AppleCare, lost/theft included. And it’s unlocked. When I got my 11 pro max, I had ATT, service sucked, I walked in Verizon and switched. 
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 35 of 40
    So what does the extra $29 pay for when you buy unlocked?
  • Reply 36 of 40
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    AI_lias said:
    So what does the extra $29 pay for when you buy unlocked?

    My guess is that it buys you a SIM card.
    I say that from my experience last year when I bought a new, unlocked phone for my grandson.   He was on his Dad's Sprint plan but, since his dad wasn't there the Apple Store rep told us he couldn't activate it there but we should switch SIMs from his old phone and activate it online when we got home.  When the old SIM wouldn't work, we were told to go to the Sprint store with his dad.  But the Sprint store told us "We don't have any SIMs you have to go back to the Apple Store".  We did and they did and the phone got activated.

    I am thinking that the Sprint store simply didn't want to give out a SIM card without being paid for it.
    My bet is here that, if you buy a "Sprint Phone" from the Apple Store then Sprint absorbs the cost of the SIM.   But, it its 'unlocked' then the cost falls on Apple -- who is passing it on to you as the $29 extra for unlocked.
    AI_lias
  • Reply 37 of 40
    Got in 8:03, at 8:08 EST is have my confirmation on a 128 gig iPhone 12 in blue.  
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 38 of 40
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Got in 8:03, at 8:08 EST is have my confirmation on a 128 gig iPhone 12 in blue.  

    Enjoy it!  I'm sure that you will!
  • Reply 39 of 40
    AI_lias said:
    So what does the extra $29 pay for when you buy unlocked?

    My guess is that it buys you a SIM card.
    I say that from my experience last year when I bought a new, unlocked phone for my grandson.   He was on his Dad's Sprint plan but, since his dad wasn't there the Apple Store rep told us he couldn't activate it there but we should switch SIMs from his old phone and activate it online when we got home.  When the old SIM wouldn't work, we were told to go to the Sprint store with his dad.  But the Sprint store told us "We don't have any SIMs you have to go back to the Apple Store".  We did and they did and the phone got activated.

    I am thinking that the Sprint store simply didn't want to give out a SIM card without being paid for it.
    My bet is here that, if you buy a "Sprint Phone" from the Apple Store then Sprint absorbs the cost of the SIM.   But, it its 'unlocked' then the cost falls on Apple -- who is passing it on to you as the $29 extra for unlocked.
    All the iPhones sold by the Apple store are unlocked except the subsidized special deal from AT&T. The SIM free iPhone isn’t sponsored by any carrier hence it doesn’t get the $30 carrier discount. It’s not complicated. The carriers are giving the $30 not Apple. 
  • Reply 40 of 40
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    jdb8167 said:
    AI_lias said:
    So what does the extra $29 pay for when you buy unlocked?

    My guess is that it buys you a SIM card.
    I say that from my experience last year when I bought a new, unlocked phone for my grandson.   He was on his Dad's Sprint plan but, since his dad wasn't there the Apple Store rep told us he couldn't activate it there but we should switch SIMs from his old phone and activate it online when we got home.  When the old SIM wouldn't work, we were told to go to the Sprint store with his dad.  But the Sprint store told us "We don't have any SIMs you have to go back to the Apple Store".  We did and they did and the phone got activated.

    I am thinking that the Sprint store simply didn't want to give out a SIM card without being paid for it.
    My bet is here that, if you buy a "Sprint Phone" from the Apple Store then Sprint absorbs the cost of the SIM.   But, it its 'unlocked' then the cost falls on Apple -- who is passing it on to you as the $29 extra for unlocked.
    All the iPhones sold by the Apple store are unlocked except the subsidized special deal from AT&T. The SIM free iPhone isn’t sponsored by any carrier hence it doesn’t get the $30 carrier discount. It’s not complicated. The carriers are giving the $30 not Apple. 

    Possible, but unlikely that any carrier is handing Apple $30.   A SIM card, maybe.   But not cash.  
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