4 ms·

Instead of using the iPhone 5 as the free option, they are discontinuing it and using the 4S as the free one.

by ihuman 13y ago

sdoowpilihp 13y ago
I would surmise that is likely due to the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5 having very similar specs. A free iPhone 5 would cannibalize the 5C sales. Why pay 100 dollars for a color case? Then again, a number of people paid the "black tax" for their macbook a number of years back.
- rdl 13y ago
  I wonder what this will do to the resale value of iPhone 5 64G Verizon. I'd upgrade from 5 -> 5S if it net cost were <$300, but it appears Priceonomics says it is $320-$450, and a new iPhone 5S 64G is $849.
  - Jtsummers 13y ago
    Verizon iPhone 5 64GB black is listed as $370 on NextWorth so that's a maybe. I've had luck in past years of reducing my upgrade costs to under $100, but AT&T is being less generous on the contract period this time around (or it didn't line up as well as in the past).
    - rdl 13y ago
      Yeah, I'll probably just list my 5 "high" on Amazon, and buy a 5S IFF it sells, or just pay the Apple tax for the year. I'm not sure how Verizon works with upgrades when you have multiple devices on an account (phone, 3 iPads, 2 Mifi); could I just upgrade one of the iPads I brought to an iPhone 5S and shuffle things around?
      - Jtsummers 13y ago
        I am not the person to ask about Verizon. I'm with AT&T because of my unlimited data plan and their excellent coverage in this area. That said, I'm considering something similar for upgrading to the 5S, NextWorth was just a place to look at prices to gauge what I should try and sell it for. I also only have the one data plan on AT&T, never got one for my iPad (wifi only).
- mikeash 13y ago
  It's because they always have the two-generations-old model as the "free" one. It's been that way for years now. Current generation starts at $200, N-1 starts at $100, and N-2 is "free". The 5 is now N-1 and would have been the $100 model, but for whatever reason, they've decided that the 5C will take its place.
- callmeed 13y ago
  Could it also be a supply-chain move? Using the 4S means different screen and other internals. Easier to source without risking shortages of 5C/5S components. Just a thought.
du 13y ago
I wonder what they'll do next year. Reactivate a discontinued iPhone 5? Or maybe they keep the smaller form factor around but then they'd have to maintain three iPhone lines. edit: Thinking about it, an iPhone 5C 8GB seems like the most likely candidate.
rquantz 13y ago
Usually the previous phone version is dropped to $100, not free. So what we would expect without the 5c is: 5s - $200, 5 - $100, 4s - $0. They've just replaced the 5 with 5c.

Instead of using the iPhone 5 as the free option, they are discontinuing it and using the 4S as the free one.

by ihuman 13y ago

Instead of using the iPhone 5 as the free option, they are discontinuing it and using the 4S as the free one.

I would surmise that is likely due to the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5 having very similar specs. A free iPhone 5 would cannibalize the 5C sales. Why pay 100 dollars for a color case? Then again, a number of people paid the "black tax" for their macbook a number of years back.

rdl 13y ago
I wonder what this will do to the resale value of iPhone 5 64G Verizon. I'd upgrade from 5 -> 5S if it net cost were <$300, but it appears Priceonomics says it is $320-$450, and a new iPhone 5S 64G is $849.
- Jtsummers 13y ago
  Verizon iPhone 5 64GB black is listed as $370 on NextWorth so that's a maybe. I've had luck in past years of reducing my upgrade costs to under $100, but AT&T is being less generous on the contract period this time around (or it didn't line up as well as in the past).
  - rdl 13y ago
    Yeah, I'll probably just list my 5 "high" on Amazon, and buy a 5S IFF it sells, or just pay the Apple tax for the year. I'm not sure how Verizon works with upgrades when you have multiple devices on an account (phone, 3 iPads, 2 Mifi); could I just upgrade one of the iPads I brought to an iPhone 5S and shuffle things around?
    - Jtsummers 13y ago
      I am not the person to ask about Verizon. I'm with AT&T because of my unlimited data plan and their excellent coverage in this area. That said, I'm considering something similar for upgrading to the 5S, NextWorth was just a place to look at prices to gauge what I should try and sell it for. I also only have the one data plan on AT&T, never got one for my iPad (wifi only).
mikeash 13y ago
It's because they always have the two-generations-old model as the "free" one. It's been that way for years now. Current generation starts at $200, N-1 starts at $100, and N-2 is "free". The 5 is now N-1 and would have been the $100 model, but for whatever reason, they've decided that the 5C will take its place.
callmeed 13y ago
Could it also be a supply-chain move? Using the 4S means different screen and other internals. Easier to source without risking shortages of 5C/5S components. Just a thought.

du 13y ago

I wonder what they'll do next year. Reactivate a discontinued iPhone 5? Or maybe they keep the smaller form factor around but then they'd have to maintain three iPhone lines. edit: Thinking about it, an iPhone 5C 8GB seems like the most likely candidate.

rquantz 13y ago

Usually the previous phone version is dropped to $100, not free. So what we would expect without the 5c is: 5s - $200, 5 - $100, 4s - $0. They've just replaced the 5 with 5c.