In a related move, Sprint announced a new iPhone Forever lease for $22 a month for a 16GB iPhone 6 with an option to upgrade to the newest iPhone at any time, according to the company. Furthermore, interested customers who get an iPhone 6 and upgrade by the end of the year, with the same December 31 deadline, will continue to benefit from the $15 per month promotional price until their following upgrade. The iPhone Forever program is one of Sprint’s latest promo’s and it’s a pretty cool one if you want the latest iPhone without having to jump through hoops.
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Verizon Wireless, which came out on top in the latest RootMetrics rankings, was a bit more reserved in its commentary, releasing a video with chief network officer Nicki Palmer touting the carrier’s achievements. The boon will last only a couple of years while consumers sign up for new plans and pay full price for their phones.
Reports stated that the four major carriers in the United States – Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon – are now adopting the practice. In exchange of the contract, customers have the option to pay the full price of their devices upfront or spread it through a two-year installment basis. AT&T is the only carrier now that offers smartphone upgrades every two years, after Verizon, T-Mobile and now Sprint that have eliminated their two-year plans.
The new plan also gives customers the chance to upgrade to the latest iPhone model at the end of the year when it becomes available. Instead of paying $200 for a phone and being tied to the contract for 24 months, customers pay a few bucks per month for a 24 month lease. Perhaps the new pricing plans will stop smartphone customers from switching to T-Mobile, or attract subscribers that left to return to Verizon.
The announcement makes Sprint the latest US wireless carrier to kill the two-year contract – for offering subsidized handsets to customers – for smartphones. The name of the program is quite self-explanatory; you would be renting a handset from Sprint.
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Currently, customers can use iPhone Forever to get a new iPhone through Sprint stores, its website and phone, as well as Target and Best Buy. The plan is also less expensive than other offerings, as you can see in the chart below. If you don’t have a contract, you can get a new phone whenever you want as long as you’ve already paid off your current device.
