Any iPhone 15 Pro Max Deals?

[ThankYouJack]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

[gotoparks]

Do you think they are going to put themselves out of business by offering a 25 dollar plan with an iPhone Max or whatever?

[Leesbro63]

I'm an AT&T customer and always buy my iPhones for cash. I often get a new one every year. I have multiple family members on my AT&T plan so I do not want to mess with that. If I trade my iPhone 14 Pro Max for the latest top of the line iPhone 15 (still called "Pro Max?), is any AT&T "deal" truly better than paying cash and buying the phone at the Apple Store directly from Apple?

[TravellingTechOnFire]

Wait until it becomes the previous years model, or two models old, and you can buy it much cheaper. It will still be the exact same phone.

My wife loves spending a lot of money on the latest and greatest from Apple and saves up her spending money to do it. She now has the Iphone14, I got her "old" Iphone 11...it does 100% exactly the same things and will continue to do so until I get her next "old" phone when she wants to spend lots of money on a new shiny.

Next, don't spend more than $15/month or so for the phone plan. There are slightly cheaper options, but that price will get most people more service than they need.

[TheOscarGuy]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

always buy with cash. No deals to be had with such a new phone.

[flyingcows]

I'm an AT&T customer and always buy my iPhones for cash. I often get a new one every year. I have multiple family members on my AT&T plan so I do not want to mess with that. If I trade my iPhone 14 Pro Max for the latest top of the line iPhone 15 (still called "Pro Max?), is any AT&T "deal" truly better than paying cash and buying the phone at the Apple Store directly from Apple?

If your staying with AT&T it's probably worth look into their trade in deals. We use Verizon, have 3 lines in a family plan, 5G unlimited, we pay $35/month per line, about $100 total per month before trade in discounts are applied to our bill

2 years ago we upgraded 2 phones to 13 Pro Maxes, from IPhoneX. I paid cash for the new phones (around $1,200 each I think, they were 256gb) and got $2,000 in trade in credits for the 2 old IphoneXs, the credit was applied over a 24 month period. If I had gotten the 13 pro maxes with smallest storage option it would have been close to an even trade, but only a few hundred more in our case

Seems like if one stays with Verizon, it would be in that persons best interest to at least explore the Verizon trade in options. I doubt I could have gotten $2,000 selling those phones private party, and Apple only offered $300 per phone at the time. Just be careful with the trade-in deals and read the details, sometimes they will want you to "upgrade" your plan or service which could increase your monthly bill

[Leesbro63]

I'm an AT&T customer and always buy my iPhones for cash. I often get a new one every year. I have multiple family members on my AT&T plan so I do not want to mess with that. If I trade my iPhone 14 Pro Max for the latest top of the line iPhone 15 (still called "Pro Max?), is any AT&T "deal" truly better than paying cash and buying the phone at the Apple Store directly from Apple?

If your staying with AT&T it's probably worth look into their trade in deals. We use Verizon, have 3 lines in a family plan, 5G unlimited, we pay $35/month per line, about $100 total per month before trade in discounts are applied to our bill

2 years ago we upgraded 2 phones to 13 Pro Maxes, from IPhoneX. I paid cash for the new phones (around $1,200 each I think, they were 256gb) and got $2,000 in trade in credits for the 2 old IphoneXs, the credit was applied over a 24 month period. If I had gotten the 13 pro maxes with smallest storage option it would have been close to an even trade, but only a few hundred more in our case

Seems like if one stays with Verizon, it would be in that persons best interest to at least explore the Verizon trade in options. I doubt I could have gotten $2,000 selling those phones private party, and Apple only offered $300 per phone at the time

Perhaps once the carrier knows you're locked in for a period, they find a way to raise your rate whereas without that it wouldn't happen for fear of losing the customer?

[H-Town]

Wait until it becomes the previous years model, or two models old, and you can buy it much cheaper. It will still be the exact same phone.

My wife loves spending a lot of money on the latest and greatest from Apple and saves up her spending money to do it. She now has the Iphone14, I got her "old" Iphone 11...it does 100% exactly the same things and will continue to do so until I get her next "old" phone when she wants to spend lots of money on a new shiny.

Next, don't spend more than $15/month or so for the phone plan. There are slightly cheaper options, but that price will get most people more service than they need.

lol we'll see how OP responds. He wants the latest and newest iPhone though. Otherwise, he'll ask to where to find iPhone 11 deals.

[flyingcows]

Perhaps once the carrier knows you're locked in for a period, they find a way to raise your rate whereas without that it wouldn't happen for fear of losing the customer?

True I am sure that could happen, although it hasn't been my experience. You would indeed forfeit any remaining trade in credits if you switch service providers

[ThankYouJack]

Thanks all, I'll just plan on buying direct from Apple. It's too bad that some of the deals to switch carriers seem decent until you look into the details.

[dukeblue219]

T-Mobile will give you $1000 off if you trade in an 11 Pro or newer and you're on the high end plans, which aren't as awful a deal as BH would lead you to believe (if you have Insider discounts and free lines).

[ncbill]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

Bought a Pixel for full retail while on a MVNO...but paid for it over two years at 0% interest via Affirm.

No problems moving to another MVNO with that phone since it wasn't financed by the original carrier itself.

[boogiehead]

Thanks all, I'll just plan on buying direct from Apple. It's too bad that some of the deals to switch carriers seem decent until you look into the details.

If you are set to buy directly from Apple and not in a hurry I would wait until black friday to pull the trigger while accumulating Apple GC for the purchase in the meantime when you see Apple GC deals. Apple usually runs some type of promo during black friday and to sweeten the deal many retailers (i.e. target, best buy, etc...) will have Apple GCs on "sale" around BF (i.e. buy $100 apple gc and get $10 target gc). Credit card rewards redemption (chase UR and citi TYR) usually will have promos during BF (10-20% extra) for Apple GC redemption as well if you think this gives you more value than travel redemption. I've upgraded iphone for friends and family via this method a couple times and ended up getting an extra $100-150 of value so it eases the pain a bit from a $1000 purchase.

[retire2022]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

-Straightalk my carrier has Iphone Pro Max for 1199

https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones ... -max-256gb

-I am currently considering the Iphone SE 3 as I have SE2 which battery requires replacing ($69) from Apple.

https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones ... on-prepaid, https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones ... on-prepaid for $149.99

-The new phone capacity is 2018 ma slightly larger than my SE2 that should be a little better than 5 hours of use.

-I may consider Iphone 12 mini or 12 but not worth more increase.

https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones ... mini-64-gb $449.99

https://www.straighttalk.com/all-phones ... repaid.red $499.99

Now if aapl shares goes up to 200 per share maybe I could afford a new phone.

[orangeandwhite]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

BH can be really funny in that people often don’t do math.

The phone subsidy is worth at most $27.78 a month (1000 / 36). That’s assuming your old phone has no value. In reality it has at least some value (like you could trade it in directly to Apple), so you’d need to take that off.

If your numbers are real that you would pay $60/m at a carrier offering the subsidy and $25/m not, it seems like that slightly pencils in favor of not taking the subsidy. My guess is that your numbers are not quit real and that the spread between the plans is less than that, especially quality of service adjusted and once you add in corporate and autopay discounts.

We want to stick with the “premium” (such as it is) carriers because we want proper customer service and to not be deprioritized on the network. Given that, it’d be crazy not to take the discount, and so we are, despite the fact that our old phones are fine.

[Yarlonkol12]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

You would need to evaluate the details of each offer, sometimes they are worth it and sometimes they are not. $60/month seems really high, does that include things like a streaming channel subscription?

I use Verizon and our monthly rates are $30/month per line for 4 lines, that's for unlimited data add 5G support (though, 5G data is limited)

Personally I wouldn't switch service providers to chase a slightly better deal, but in my case I will sometimes use the "trade in" plans that are offered through Verizon. Sometimes they are a good deal, sometimes they are not. If they require changing to a more expensive plan, usually not, but you would have to evaluate the offer in question and pay attention to the details

[chinchin]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

always buy with cash. No deals to be had with such a new phone.

I can upgrade from iPhone 14 to iPhone 15 for $2 a month, but only if I pay in installments. This is with T-Mobile.

[bendix]

The thing is brand new and some of my colleagues are already fantasizing about how good their life is going to be once they have this new phone. People are competing to get their hands on it as early as they can. Why would there be any deals in this situation? If you want an iPhone 15 Max at deal prices, check back when the iPhone 16 has been released. There are practically no material changes to this thing anyways.

[nydoc]

There is something with this new iPhone pro max. Looks like even Apple didn’t anticipate it. People behave strangely. What I hearing titanium and number 15 making it go crazy.

[ThankYouJack]

Thanks for the replies. I'm still leaning towards buying direct from Apple (and sticking with my low cost cell plan) but glad some people are getting some deals.

The thing is brand new and some of my colleagues are already fantasizing about how good their life is going to be once they have this new phone. People are competing to get their hands on it as early as they can. Why would there be any deals in this situation? If you want an iPhone 15 Max at deal prices, check back when the iPhone 16 has been released. There are practically no material changes to this thing anyways.

I didn't think there would be great deals but it didn't hurt to ask a great group of helpful Bogleheads and some people have actually replied about different deals. I don't buy phones that often and would rather buy the newest flagship phone when available solely because it makes my life soooo much better

There is something with this new iPhone pro max. Looks like even Apple didn’t anticipate it. People behave strangely. What I hearing titanium and number 15 making it go crazy.

Exactly why I'm and everyone else is buying it. If is was a 14 and titanium, absolutely no way, but 15 is a pretty great number.

[hudson]

There is something with this new iPhone pro max. Looks like even Apple didn’t anticipate it. People behave strangely. What I hearing titanium and number 15 making it go crazy.

Exactly why I'm and everyone else is buying it. If is was a 14 and titanium, absolutely no way, but 15 is a pretty great number.

Is the 15 better than the 14? To me a new 14 = a new 15.

I have the 14 Pro Max. For me, the 15 Pro Max doesn't have anything new for me to hang my hat on.
The 14 Pro Max sold me with the satellite SOS. One of the older model iPhones sold me with improved water resistance...no more bagging a phone when hiking in the rain.
I'll likely run the 14 for at least 3 years unless they come out with a one inch bigger model.

Back to the original question: Deals? The Verizon deals usually give me heartburn. Verizon doesn't lay out full details about their deals. I buy directly from Apple and pay full retail. I once bought an iPhone from a low price vendor. The deal was great, but they didn't tell me that voicemail wasn't fully functional. The vendor had a first class return policy.

Bottom Line: I like easy-to-read full disclosure with pictures...idiot proof.

[FIRWYW]

OP. Not a huge discount on either, but sounds like you may be on a mvno already. Red pocket is $300 off with rebate. That’s the only thing I have seen (only because the sent me an email b/c I had been looking at replacing wife’s phone recently). Hope that helps

(Frequently I see Costco throwing in 3 years of AppleCare free but nothing there currently)

[RobLyons]

Xfinity Mobile is offering "Save up to $830 on iPhone 15 Pro with trade-in". Info below. I'm a current customer and it looks like I would have to add a line to get that promo. But I don't need another line. (We don't need another phone either but found this deal this morning and thought I'd share)


Disclaimer

Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas.  
Xfinity Mobile requires residential post-pay Xfinity Internet. Line limitations may apply. Equip., intl. and roaming charges, taxes and fees, including reg. recovery fees, and other charges extra, and subj. to change. $25/line/mo. charge applies if Xfinity TV, Internet or Voice post-pay services not maintained. Pricing subject to change. In times of congestion, your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic. Reduced speeds after use of monthly data included with your data option. Data thresholds may vary. For Xfinity Mobile Broadband Disclosures visit: www.xfinity.com/mobile/policies/broadband-disclosures.
Offer ends 10/12/23. Requires qualifying phone trade-in, and purchase and activation of a new iPhone 12 Family, iPhone 13 Family, iPhone 14 Family or iPhone 15 Family phone (excludes all SE models and iPhone 12 mini) while supplies last, a 24-month Xfinity Mobile Device Payment Plan Agreement (“Device Agreement”), and 1) activation of a new Xfinity Mobile line within 30 days of phone purchase date or 2) upgrade of an existing Xfinity Mobile device with purchase of a new eligible Apple phone and activation of phone on that line within 15 days of order. Existing phone must be paid in full. Trade-in must be completed within 21 days of device shipment date. Must maintain line required for offer until trade-in is completed. Porting of number is not required with trade-in. Up to $830 in trade-in credits will be applied monthly to your account over 24 months so long as Device Agreement is in effect. Actual trade in amount varies depending on model of phone for trade in and purchase. If line is canceled, voluntarily or involuntarily or device payments are accelerated, balance of credits associated with device payment are forfeited. Back orders are eligible. Out of stock devices are not eligible. Not valid with prior purchases, returns or exchanges. May not be combined with other device offers.
© 2023 Comcast. © 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.    

[bombcar]

Trade-in deals are almost useless.

Cox Mobile is offering a $500 prepaid card. You may have to be a cox internet customer.

Not sure how good their service is but I am looking at it strongly as Ting doesn’t support esim.

[Leesbro63]

Back to the original question: Deals? The Verizon deals usually give me heartburn. Verizon doesn't lay out full details about their deals. I buy directly from Apple and pay full retail. I once bought an iPhone from a low price vendor. The deal was great, but they didn't tell me that voicemail wasn't fully functional. The vendor had a first class return policy.

Bottom Line: I like easy-to-read full disclosure with pictures...idiot proof.

This is where I am with AT&T. Honestly I don't understand how the deals work...I could figure it out if I wanted to, I guess. But like with cars, I'd rather just pay cash and be done. I don't trust the "deal" to not have hidden catches. It's not worth it to me to save $100 or $200 over a few years of ownership (or less) to get involved with monthly payments that obscure the real price.

[Dottie57]

I'm an AT&T customer and always buy my iPhones for cash. I often get a new one every year. I have multiple family members on my AT&T plan so I do not want to mess with that. If I trade my iPhone 14 Pro Max for the latest top of the line iPhone 15 (still called "Pro Max?), is any AT&T "deal" truly better than paying cash and buying the phone at the Apple Store directly from Apple?

This. I want to be able to switch carriers at any time.

[plmd]

The big carrier trade-in deals aren’t deals all. The reason why they can offer the crazy trade in deals is because they lock you into their expensive unlimited plans, which have such high profit margins.

The way to go is definitely keep your plan as cheap as possible and just bite the bullet and buy the phone if you really want it…

I use AT&T Prepaid and pay $300 for a year of service (more like $240-250, since I buy the refills when they are on sale). I get unlimited talk/text, 16GB of data with rollover, hotspot, 4K streaming, even free roaming in Canada and Mexico.

At $20 per month out the door, I don’t mind paying full price for an iPhone Pro model every year. Since I keep my iPhone in pristine condition, I can sell or trade-in every year and only have to pay $400-500 for the new one. Divide that by 12, and I’m only paying $55-60 per month for my service and a new iPhone. If I ever decide that I don’t want to upgrade again (my wife won’t give up her 13 mini), then I’m back to only paying $20 per month.

Even if you don’t want to get a new iPhone every year, prepaid is the way to go.

[bombcar]

This. I want to be able to switch carriers at any time.

I believe if you buy from apple credit (even if you say T-Mobile during checkout) you get an unlocked phone.

[02nz]

Trade-in deals are almost useless.

Cox Mobile is offering a $500 prepaid card. You may have to be a cox internet customer.

Not sure how good their service is but I am looking at it strongly as Ting doesn’t support esim.

I just pre-ordered two iPhone 15s from Cox with this deal. Link: https://www.cox.com/mobile-shop/devices?brand=apple

You do indeed have to be a Cox internet customer (or be in their service area and become a Cox internet customer).

You can unlock the phone after 60 days and get the promo after 90 days, similar to deals Visible has run in the past.

One nice perk is that adding Cox Mobile gives you a $15 discount on your home internet, so (with their 1GB/mo service at $15), the first line is effectively free. You can also choose the $45/mo unlimited plan.

IMO for those in the Cox service area, this is the best deal on new iPhones, by far.

[the_wiki]

Red Pocket has $300 off via rebate. Apparently they have a 1 year phone lock in. Service is $20-40 a month on AT&T network, so pretty reasonable plan cost, too.

https://www.redpocket.com/shop/iphone/a ... 15-pro-max

[gypsyman]

10% off for Veterans when purchasing direct from Apple.

[pizzy]

I use AT&T Prepaid and pay $300 for a year of service (more like $240-250, since I buy the refills when they are on sale). I get unlimited talk/text, 16GB of data with rollover, hotspot, 4K streaming, even free roaming in Canada and Mexico.

Are you aware that many people use 16GB+ per month? Easily.

[plmd]

Are you aware that many people use 16GB+ per month? Easily.

I didn’t say that everyone should get on my plan. It was just an example of what you can get. AT&T Prepaid has an unlimited plan for $300 for 12 months too.

[snackdog]

My aged and frugal dad found an amazing deal on a brand new iPhone online. When it arrived he couldn’t figure our why it was running android.

[OnceARunner]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

The phone subsidy is worth at most $27.78 a month (1000 / 36). That’s assuming your old phone has no value. In reality it has at least some value (like you could trade it in directly to Apple), so you’d need to take that off.

That is for verizon and at&t. T-Mobile gives you the $1,000 over 24 months so it's worth $41.66 a month.

[gypsyman]

Tried an online order for the 15 Pro Max for in store pickup in all four colors. No luck as delivery dates range from mid October to mid November. Any chance if I show up at the store on 9/22 one will be available?

I have an iPhone 11 trade in with battery health at 85%. If it drops below a certain level will they decrease the $200 trade in or even decline the trade in? Battery health level is my reason to move quickly.

[the_wiki]

I'm considering buying the iPhone 15 Pro Max and wondering if there are any actual deals out there.

Some carriers will offer ~$1,000 off but then tie you into a plan for $60+ month for 36 months.

I currently pay $25 / month for my cell phone plan so I think I'm better off just buying straight through Apple but wanted to post here first.

The phone subsidy is worth at most $27.78 a month (1000 / 36). That’s assuming your old phone has no value. In reality it has at least some value (like you could trade it in directly to Apple), so you’d need to take that off.

That is for verizon and at&t. T-Mobile gives you the $1,000 over 24 months so it's worth $41.66 a month.

But only if you are on their plan that costs $50 more per month....