Gadgetory

Apple now has its own iPhone upgrade program it's leasing not owning with benefits and you can get a new phone every year instead of paying the carrier's a monthly fee to subsidize the cost of your phone you pay Apple this is on top of the cost of your data and voice service with apples program you sign up with one of the four major US carriers the phone is unlocked and you get AppleCare this covers you for hardware repairs software support and two accidental damage incidents but is it right for you here are three different scenarios for three very different users to keep things simple we're comparing prices for a 16 gigabyte iPhone 6s and not including the price of a wireless service remember when you upgrade before you've paid off the entire lease period you have to trade in the phone because you never owned it scenario one early adopter Erica you're the type of user who upgrades every year and always buyers Apple care your minimum cost is three hundred and eighty eight dollars and ninety two cents after the first year apple's program makes sense because after twelve months you can trade in your iphone 6s and the leasing cycle starts again scenario two frugal Frank you're looking for the cheapest way to get an upgrade right now that's t-mobile's jump on demand plan pay five dollars per month when you trade in your existing phone otherwise it's $20 a month if you don't trade in the minimum cost is $60 for the first year scenario three one carrier wander for regional coverage or other reasons you stick with one carrier but still want a yearly upgrade Sprint's iPhone forever plan will cost you $15 per month when you trade in your old phone otherwise its $22 a month the minimum cost is one hundred and eighty dollars after your first year Verizon and AT&T don't technically have leasing programs but if you sign on to a monthly installment plan you own the handset once all payments are made AT&T s next twelve plan has a minimum cost of three hundred and ninety dollars after a year plus an upgrade fee to get a new phone but if you want to be on Verizon and upgrade every year you have two options sign up with Apple's program or pay off the phone after one year sell it and use that cash to buy a new handset remember it's a competitive market out there so prices and deals are always subject to change those are some of your iPhone upgrade choices in a nutshell it is complicated but hey there's always Android for more check out our full iPhone upgrade explainer at cnet.com