Do you own the iPhone outright at the end of the 24 month installment plan or is it some kind of lease. This lack of clarity upfront is deterring me from buying the iPhone 8 Plus. I would much rather buy the phone outright with the discounted sale price. null

Question

Braincell · Accepted Answer

If you do 24 month installment Then you on the phone right after the last payment but if you do the 18 months that’s the flex lease you don’t own it after 18 months you have to either give it back in good condition or buy it out right

Answered by Braincell 7 years ago

Verified Purchase

Eman · Answer

Yes you do. The other payment option is the lease which you return phone after it’s over

KellyTsings · Answer

I did own it outright.

RegA · Answer

If you go with the 24 month Installment plan, then yes you own it after 24 months. Free and clear.

Picard1701 · Answer

Short answer: It depends.

My carrier is Sprint and they do give me the option of leasing the phone (18 months) or buying it (24 months). Not sure if all carriers offer that option. Of course, you will pay more to own it because you add another six months of payments. But, you will own the phone when it's all said and done. However, leasing the phone gives me the option of taking advantage of Sprint's Forever iPhone plan. That means I can automatically upgrade to the newest iPhone after only 12 monthly installments have been made. That sounds good to me. But there is a drawback to that too. At the end of 12 months, if I choose to get the newest iPhone, I still have to pay off the remaining lease agreement. That usually adds up to about $200. Plus, the phone cannot have any cracked or broken screens. Otherwise, you buy it no matter what. I've never leased a car, but even I know there are pros and cons to owning a vehicle that way. Phones are a little analogous, but on a much smaller scale.

One way or another, the carriers are going to make their money. That's not a comment on the evils of capitalism or anything like that. It's just an observation. I've been with Sprint for almost 20 years, since before phones got smart. They have been good to me and I acknowledge I will occasionally pay a premium for that service. But, with our phones now being an absolute necessity, both personally and professionally, I'll take the good with the not-so-good.

“Do you own the iPhone outright at the end of the 24 month installment plan or is it some kind of lease. This lack of clarity upfront is deterring me from buying the iPhone 8 Plus. I would much rather buy the phone outright with the discounted sale price.”

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