Apple Shows Off ‘Trade Up With Installments’ iPhone Payment Plan

Apple wants you to be able to get a new iPhone anytime your little heart desires one.

To attract existing smartphone customers that aren’t looking to drop $600 at one time, Apple has introduced a new program called Trade Up with Installments which allows you to put the price of a trade-in towards reducing your monthly payments for a new iPhone, with payments starting as low at $15 a month.

One of the killer features of this plan is that you don’t even have to be trading-in an iOS device to get a reduced installment price. Android users can get up to $300 for their used devices. New iPhone customers who bring in a Samsung Galaxy S6, for instance, will get $290 towards the purchase of a new iPhone.

For iPhone users, trade-in prices for an iPhone 6 Plus will float around $350 and you can actually still get $100 or so if you trade in your iPhone 4 edition paperweight.

If you’re not ready to make the purchase just yet, smartphone users can also take their eligible device in-store and get instant credit (up to $350) from Apple. Receiving a gift card is also an available option to users that just want to send the device in.

Customers interested in the Trade Up with Installments plan will fill out what is essentially a micro loan when they go to a physical Apple Store. The loan is handled by Citizens Bank, that will, if approved, purchase the phone on your behalf and setup monthly payments that are the strictly the price of the device minus the price of your trade-in.

Until you pay it off you’re renting the device so if you drop your iPhone out of a helicopter you still have to pay it off like you would had you bought it outright. If you end up looking to upgrade to a newer iPhone before the 24 months of payments is up, you can simply pay off the balance and use the program to trade it in towards the cost of your iPhone 11s Plus.

The plan isn’t anything too radical for Apple, just a combination of existing programs mostly, but combining generous trade-in offers with an installment plan that isn’t gouging cash-strapped customers is awesome to see.