Alongside the announcement of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus last year, Apple announced a new program designed at encouraging users to upgrade their device every year, as opposed to the traditional two-year cycle. At launch, the iPhone Upgrade Program was oddly only available to customers shopping in Apple Stores. Today, however, Apple has expanded the program to the online store so all customers can now take advantage of it.
Starting today, if you visit Apple’s website and go through the process of buying an iPhone, you’ll see a new option alongside the traditional carrier installment, contract, and outright purchase options. At the very top of the list is the iPhone Upgrade Program and its installment pricing. In fact, when you go through the process, the iPhone Upgrade Program is now the default choice.
For the iPhone Upgrade Program, prices start at $32.41 per month for the 16GB iPhone 6s and $36.58 per month for the 16GB iPhone 6s Plus. Prices then increase based on which storage capacity you chose.
As we found when the iPhone Upgrade Program launched last September, it doesn’t offer huge savings compared to carrier upgrade programs, but there are some advantages. The biggest one, however, is that you get AppleCare+ service protection included in the monthly price. AppleCare+ adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage.
If you’ve been holding out to purchase an iPhone 6s online with the iPhone Upgrade Program, you can head over to Apple’s online store now to do so. The iPhone 6s you’ll get will be ready to use with your carrier of choice, although if you’re a T-Mobile customer, you’ll still have to purchase your iPhone Upgrade Program device from an Apple store. Every month you’ll pay Apple the hardware cost, while you’ll still pay your carrier for service. Let us know in the comments if you’re in Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program and if you’ll be using it to upgrade to the iPhone 7 this September.
