T-Mobile Raises iPhone Price by $50, Down Payment on iPhone 5 Starts at $150

When 4th-place U.S. cell carrier T-Mobile launched the iPhone last month, customers could purchase it for a $100 down payment with 24 monthly payments of $20 to cover the full cost of the phone.

Now, however, T-Mobile has ended that promotion and the 16GB iPhone 5 has a $150 down payment with the same monthly payments, effectively raising the cost of the phone to $630 from $580 over the life of the plan, TmoNews reports.

NewImage
The 32GB and 64GB iPhone 5 models have seen a similar $50 price increase. Buying a 16GB iPhone 5 through T-Mobile is still slightly cheaper than buying an unlocked iPhone from Apple. That phone is $650, though there is no monthly payment option.

Ah T-Mobile, I knew your introductory pricing of $99 down payment wasn’t going to last. As of today, T-Mobile will ask well-qualified customers to drop $149 as their down payment instead of $99 as has been the case since the April 12th launch. I don’t recall anyone or anywhere telling me the $99 price was only good for one month, but in hindsight I should have seen the writing on the wall.

T-Mobile will continue to take trade-ins of current iPhone models to reduce the down payment required. The company reported last week that it had sold more than 500,000 iPhones in less than a month after launch.

Top Rated Comments

treyjustice Avatar
142 months ago
Seriously? I was wanting to switch to tmobile from AT&T when the 5S came off.... $50 isn' a huge amount but makes me not want to as much
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Plutonius Avatar
142 months ago
Tmobile's network is just as good as any other.

I use (and like) T-Mobile and can tell you right now that the cell coverage isn't nearly as good as the other providers. My phone was totally useless when I traveled to a graduation last weekend (might as well been a brick) because there was no T-Mobile coverage in the area. Luckily, I was with people who had a different provider and coverage. I have good coverage at home but, this happens all the time when I travel.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Plutonius Avatar
142 months ago
That's an awfully bold statement. It depends on where you live. In my area T-Mobile has awesome coverage and 3G/4G data speeds that simply destroy Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T to a slightly lesser extent. No LTE coverage yet though.

All mobile carriers have their good and bad areas. In my experience though, T-Mobile's cell coverage is worse then the other major carriers.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CEmajr Avatar
142 months ago
And when us users paid full price for unlimited on Verizon to keep a perk, we got flamed, yet now that TMO is doing the same thing, its revolutionary.

YEAH RIGHT.

The difference is that your bill on Verizon is the same as someone who got a subsidized iPhone from them. While on Tmobile the bill is cheaper if you chose to pay full price upfront for it.

Totally different.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Plutonius Avatar
142 months ago
You're in New Hampshire -- not the highest priority for any carrier unfortunately. Closer to Boston, TMO is just fine.

I live in southern NH and I work in Mass. As I said earlier, I have no issues with T-Mobile coverage where I live / work. I was traveling to NY state last weekend and I had no coverage. I have also not had coverage in many other states when I traveled. I'm a happy T-Mobile customer but the T-Mobile coverage isn't up to par with the other major carriers.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macFanDave Avatar
142 months ago
While the so-called Wall Street analysts bloviate about made-up data and unsubstantiated rumors to smear Apple, here we see an actual move in the real marketplace that indicates that the iPhone 5 is still strong among real-world customers who put hard-earned dollars to purchase them.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...