Analyst: New Apple iPhone sales could benefit from carriers' early upgrade plans

Analyst Chris Cano of Susquehanna told clients in a note disseminated on Wednesday, that the next iteration of the Apple iPhone should benefit from new early upgrade plans offered by the major U.S.carriers. Plans like AT&T Next, Verizon Edge and T-Mobile's Jump! allow customers of these carriers to upgrade before the 24 months waiting period required in the standard contracts signed by Verizon, Sprint and AT&T customers who purchase subsidized phones.

Since the new plans can allow for earlier upgrades, demand for the new iPhone on the weekend of the launch could be even stronger than usual. Cano figures that these early upgrade plans are costing consumers only $2 to $10 a month, which most would find more than worth it in order to score a hot new phone before 24 months has expired.

And since many of these new plans don't require a down payment, consumers might not have to lay out any money to make an iPhone purchase. With the balance due in monthly installments spread out over as long as 30 months, the analyst says that Apple could raise prices and it would hurt less this way. Cano uses AT&T's 30 month payment plan as an example, which would mean that a $50 hike in the price of the iPhone could end up costing a buyer just $1.67 more each month. The analyst says that no smartphone buyer would give an increase of that size a second thought.


The latest rumor has Apple launching a 4.7 inch Apple iPhone 6 in August with a larger screened 5.5 inch version coming to market the very next month.

source: Marketwatch via NYPost