Since its inception, I’ve been a big fan of the iPhone Upgrade Program. Apple has pioneered a pay monthly scheme for devices that lets you buy a new iPhone every year without the exorbitant upfront costs of an outright handset purchase, and without any nasty interest leeching into your hard-earned cash.
2023 will be my fourth year on the program, I think… I’ve honestly lost count. Last year, the cost of my iPhone 14 Pro was noticeably higher than my iPhone 13 Pro, but not enough to make me reconsider. This year, however, rumors of price increases are looming larger than ever, and I’m genuinely concerned about the prospect of increased monthly costs. To that end, I’ve decided to try and calculate what those prices might look like based on the latest rumors.
iPhone Upgrade Program - our starting point
All the latest iPhone 15 and 15 Pro price info points squarely to increases across the entire lineup this year. Of course, a lot of this could be regional. Mark Gurman says we should look out for a “minor” price increase across all four models outside the US, but didn’t rule out a jump at home either.
The iPhone 15 Pro looks set to get a much more significant jump, with reports of price rises of $100 or even $200 dollar on last year’s models.
So how could that impact iPhone Upgrade Program costs?
The iPhone 14 and 14 Pro on iUP is currently priced as follows in the US:
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | iPhone 14 | iPhone 14 Plus | iPhone 14 Pro | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| 128GB | $39.50 | $44.91 | $49.91 | $54.08 |
| 256GB | $43.66 | $49.08 | $54.08 | $58.25 |
| 512GB | $52 | $57.41 | $62.41 | $66.58 |
| 1TB | Row 4 - Cell 1 | Row 4 - Cell 2 | $70.75 | $74.91 |
In the UK, iUP shakes out like this:
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | iPhone 14 | iPhone 14 Plus | iPhone 14 Pro | iPhone 14 Pro Max |
| 128GB | £46.45 | £52.95 | £61.45 | £66.45 |
| 256GB | £51.95 | £58.45 | £66.95 | £71.95 |
| 512GB | £62.95 | £69.45 | £77.95 | £82.95 |
| 1TB | Row 4 - Cell 1 | Row 4 - Cell 2 | £88.95 | £93.95 |
As mentioned, the great thing about iUP is that there’s no interest or hidden fees. As such, calculating the monthly cost of it is a simple equation. In the US, It’s the cost of your device, plus two years of AppleCare+, divided by 24 months. In the UK, it’s the cost of your device, plus two years of AppleCare+, minus the upfront payment (£69), divided by 20 months.
So, if the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus increase in price by the modest amount mentioned, say, $50/£50, we’d be looking at US costs of $998 for a 128GB iPhone 15 with AppleCare. Divided by 24 months, that gets you $41.58, an increase of just over $2 a month. A 128GB iPhone 15 Plus with AppleCare would be around $1,128, giving us a round monthly cost of $47, making for a $3 a month increase.
If we apply that formula, we get estimated iPhone 15 iUP costs as follows:
| Storage | iPhone 15 | iPhone 15 Plus |
| 128GB | $41.58 | $47 |
| 256GB | $45.75 | $51.16 |
| 512GB | $54.08 | $59.50 |
| 1TB | $58.25 | $63.66 |
The same calculation can be applied to the Pro, here’s how they’d look with the rumored $100 increase:
| Storage | iPhone 15 Pro | iPhone 15 Pro Max |
| 128GB | $54.08 | $58.25 |
| 256GB | $58.25 | $62.41 |
| 512GB | $66 | $70.75 |
| 1TB | $74.91 | $79.08 |
| 2TB | $83.25 | $87.41 |
And here’s the same list with the rumored $200 increase:
| Storage | iPhone 15 Pro | iPhone 15 Pro Max |
| 128GB | $58.25 | $62.41 |
| 256GB | $62.41 | $66.58 |
| 512GB | $70.75 | $74.91 |
| 1TB | $79.08 | $83.25 |
| 2TB | $87.41 | $91.58 |
The calculations in the UK are a bit more complicated. As mentioned, there’s a one-off £69 fee, and the payment terms are shorter, 20 months instead of 24. A £50 increase to the 128GB base model iPhone 15, would see it start at £899. With a £149 AppleCare+ fee, minus the upfront costs, that falls to £48.95 a month, a slightly bigger increase than the US.
For a broader picture of how price increases could impact the UK, we’ve taken all of the UK models currently available and added a £100 price increase to reflect a balance of the rumored changes. So the price of the iPhone 15 would start at £949. We’ve then added the cost of AppleCare to each, subtracted the £69 upfront payment, and then divided the remainder by the 20-month term of UK iUP contracts to arrive at the following estimates:
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | iPhone 15 | iPhone 15 Plus | iPhone 15 Pro | iPhone 15 Pro Max |
| 128GB | £51.45 | £57.95 | £66.45 | £71.45 |
| 256GB | £56.95 | £63.45 | £71.95 | £76.95 |
| 512GB | £67.95 | £74.45 | £82.95 | £87.95 |
| 1TB | £71.5 | £77.95 | £93.95 | £98.95 |
| 2TB | Row 5 - Cell 1 | Row 5 - Cell 2 | £101.45 | £106.45 |
September could be an expensive month
Of course, this could fluctuate for a number of reasons. Apple could change or increase the price of AppleCare+. It could change or increase the upfront cost, or it could change the length of UK iUP contracts to bring costs down by making them longer.
The only other wrinkle, of course, is storage. We’ve heard rumblings that Apple could increase the base model storage of the iPhone from 128GB to 256GB this year, rendering the starting price of iPhone higher. Apple may also add a 1TB option to the regular 15, and a 2TB option to the Pro models. If Apple sticks to form, that last tier could be an eye-watering $1899, which would factor in the $200 rumored price increase and the $200 jump for each storage configuration. We’ve included an estimated cost of a 1TB regular iPhone 15 and a 2TB Pro model in each table.
Finally, these prices are also based on the cost of AppleCare+, included in iUP, staying the same for the new iPhone 15.
As you can see, while the iPhone Upgrade Program is still cheaper than buying a phone outright (in the short term), global increases could make for some painful monthly payment increases this year.
If you aren’t desperate for a new phone every year, financing an iPhone or a carrier option might be a better shout, however, even with increases, people already enrolled in the iPhone Upgrade Program are still probably going to get the best deal by making the leap, even if it's going to sting a bit more this time around.
