Apple's Next Chapter: 10 Key Issues

Apple will start accepting orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus beginning at midnight. The phones won't reach Apple Stores until Friday, September 19. Apple's carrier partners will also offer the smartphones in their stores. Apple advertises the iPhone 6 starting at $199 and the 6 Plus starting at $299. Those price points are for the 16-GB model and require two-year contracts.

A few years ago, every operator would have charged the same price. That's no longer the case. The options for buying the iPhone are varied and range from $0 to $949 depending on which you choose.

First, let's look at the "real" prices of Apple's iPhones. The full retail price of the 16 GB iPhone 6 is $649. The price jumps to $749 and $849 for the 64 GB and 128 GB models, respectively. The full retail price of the 16 GB iPhone 6 Plus is $749. Apple is charging a $100 premium for the larger display and slightly better camera of the 6 Plus. The price jumps to $849 and $949 for the 64 GB and 128 GB models, respectively. (If you find yourself gasping for breath, go ahead and take a moment to compose yourself).

Thanks to T-Mobile's UNCarrier moves, all the large wireless companies offer several ways to purchase devices:

[And how do the new iPhones measure up? Read Apple's New iPhones Vs. Rivals]

Figure 1:

Here is how all the finance prices break down from the nation's top four carriers.

AT&T
The Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be available for $0 down on AT&T Next. Next is what AT&T calls its installment plans. AT&T offers two Next plans, which have no activation, upgrade, or financing fees. With Next 12, you're eligible for a $0 upgrade after 12 months and with Next 18 the same is true after 18 months. If you choose to trade in and upgrade your smartphone after 12 or 18 installments, no further installments will be billed for your original phone. Start over with a new plan. Or, keep your current smartphone, and after 20 or 24 monthly payments, your smartphone is paid for in full.

For the 16 GB iPhone 6, AT&T is asking for $0 down followed monthly payments of $32.50 for Next 12, or $27.09 for Next 18. Those prices change to $37.50 and $31.25 for the 64 GB model and $42.50 and $35.42 for the 128 GB model. For the 16-GB iPhone 6 Plus, AT&T is asking for $0 down followed monthly payments of $37.50 for Next 12, or $31.25 for Next 18. Those prices change to $42.50 and $35.42 for the 64 GB model and $47.50 and $39.59 for the 128 GB model.

These payments are made in addition to the monthly service costs.

Sprint
Sprint announced a new way to buy the iPhone this week in a promotion called iPhone for Life. Think of it as a lease. Sprint's iPhone 6 leasing program lets consumers buy the iPhone 6 for $0 down followed by 24 monthly payments of $20 (16 GB version). The 64 GB model costs $25 per month and the 128 GB model costs $30 per month. Want the bigger iPhone? Expect to pay a bit more. Sprint is selling the iPhone 6 Plus for $0 down followed by 24 monthly payments

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of $25 (16 GB version). The 64 GB model costs $30 per month and the 128 GB model costs $35 per month.

After two years, customers can turn the device in and receive the next-generation iPhone (iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, perhaps?) under the same terms. Additionally, Sprint said the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will be eligible for a new Simply Unlimited plan that offers unlimited talk, text, and data for just $50 per month for a single line. Sprint is also offering Sprint Easy Pay, which is similar to AT&T's installment plan above.

T-Mobile
T-Mobile doesn't sign any of its customers to a new contract any more. Instead, it offers T-Mobile Simple Choice plans, which break apart the device cost and the service plan cost. The device cost is defrayed over monthly installments, just like AT&T and Sprint.

T-Mobile will let you walk out of stores on Friday, September 19, with a 16 GB iPhone 6 with $0 followed by 24 monthly payments of $27.08. T-Mobile is asking for a downpayment of $99 for the 64 GB model and $199 for the 128 GB model, and will charge the same $27.08 monthly installment fee for each. The pricer iPhone 6 Plus is being offered for a $0, $99, and $199 down followed by 24 monthly payments of $31.25 for the 16 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB models, respectively. After 24 months, T-Mobile customers own their device and can do anything they want with it. If they choose to leave T-Mobile, they have to pay off the balance of the device cost.

Verizon Wireless
Last, but not least, we have Verizon Wireless. Verizon calls its monthly installment plans Verizon Edge. Verizon hasn't provided a full breakdown yet of what its monthly costs will be, but at least it gave us a starting point.

Verizon will let its customers buy the 16 GB iPhone 6 for $0 down followed by 20 monthly payments of $32.49. Those prices should go up to approximately $37.50 and $42.50 for the 64 GB and 128 GB models. Verizon will let its customers buy the 16 GB iPhone 6 Plus for $0 down followed by 20 monthly payments of $37.49. Those prices should go up to approximately $42.50 and $47.50 for the 64 GB and 128 GB models.

There you have it. Online ordering starts at 3 a.m. Eastern time. Who's getting up in the middle of the night to order a new iPhone? If you think online ordering is for the birds, feel free to get up at 3 a.m. on Friday, September 19, so you can get a decent spot in line at your local Apple Store. They open at 8 a.m.

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