This year, 59% of Americans say that tariffs and inflation will keep them from buying a new phone, according to the personal-finance company WalletHub’s new 2025 iPhone Survey. However, as the iPhone 17 release date approaches on September 19, WalletHub found that people can save $877 - $2,015 over two years by picking the right plan.
You can find some highlights from the report below, along with expert commentary. You can also crunch the numbers to see which iPhone plan is right for you, using WalletHub’s custom Cell Phone Savings Calculator, ahead of the newest models starting to ship.
Key Stats
- A no-contract individual plan from Straight Talk is the best way to get the new iPhone, beating plans from all three major carriers.
- For even more savings, keep your old phone. Individuals can save up to $1,604 and families can save up to $2,743.
- More than 1 in 4 people think that the new iPhone is worth going into debt for.
- Nearly 9 in 10 Americans think iPhones are overpriced.
WalletHub’s Cell Phone Savings Calculator lets users input their upfront and monthly costs to compare the true cost of two-year contracts, installment plans and no-contract plans from all of the major carriers. You can check out the calculator, along with an embeddable infographic comparing the most popular plans, here: https://wallethub.com/cell-
Expert Commentary
To what extent do major carriers differ in terms of the availability and strength of their wireless networks? Are there any differences in terms of security?
“In my family and friends' experiences, there is a fair amount of variability in the actual availability and strength of wireless networks based on location… This means that consumers have to decide where the strongest connectivity is most important and seek the best provider for that location. When multiple locations are important, it becomes harder to select and trade-offs may be required. Over time, the best provider for a specific location may change… When large groups of people gather, such as for a college football game or concert, it is not unusual for users to find that there is inadequate coverage no matter what provider they use. Sometimes additional temporary towers reduce this problem. From my experience, there is no one best cellular provider. The best provider varies with location, geography, the built environment and the number of users attempting to access the system at the same time. Factors may change from time to time and we usually learn by trial and error.”
Irene E. Leech, Ph.D. – Associate Professor, Virginia Tech
“Each carrier emphasizes wide coverage and strong signals. Verizon is often recognized as having the best nationwide coverage, but depending on the area (metropolitan, suburban, or rural), other carriers such as AT&T or T-Mobile may provide superior performance. Mobile virtual network operators (e.g., Google Fi, Mint), which lease infrastructure from major carriers, can sometimes demonstrate comparable or even better localized performance. Availability therefore depends greatly on geographic location, though generally speaking, major carriers tend to provide more consistent coverage. Regarding security, differences appear minimal at the consumer level, as most carriers rely on standardized protocols and protections.”
Wooyang Kim, Ph.D. – Professor, Minnesota State University Moorhead
How popular do you think Apple's "new iPhone every year" plan is among consumers?
“This depends upon the type of consumer you are - if you like constant stimulation and thrill you will probably like this - But there is a catch - you are likely to expect something novel every year and be disappointed when you find that the changes are just incremental, the color might have changed or the shape might have changed. The danger for Apple is that a promise sets up expectations and it is difficult to manage the expectations once they are set. So, Apple needs to be very careful in how they market their plan and manage customer expectations.”
Subimal Chatterjee – Distinguished Teaching Professor, Binghamton University
“This new product introduction is common to any cellphone manufacturer, not restricted to Apple. Following Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation, it is always welcomed by an innovator group. However, based on our observations, the degree of truly new features associated with the product (e.g., Samsung’s thinnest foldable phone) or distinctive options through carrier-specific exclusivity (e.g., AT&T exclusivity with Apple in the past) will impact consumer choice behaviors. Accordingly, the two considerations mentioned above would jointly determine the degree of the installment plans offered by carriers, but not merely because of Apple’s new cellphone, which seems less impactful today as we have observed insufficient or cooled initial sales volumes when a new one is introduced.”
Wooyang Kim, Ph.D. – Professor, Minnesota State University Moorhead
How much cheaper must a two-year agreement be for a cell phone user to sacrifice the flexibility of not having a contract?
“There is no absolute or universal answer to this question, but it depends on users’ consumption styles and lifestyles on where to value more (e.g., trendy via new products or thrifty via service plans) if the signal coverage is the same or similar across service providers. As a possible common factor, ordinary consumers can perceptually evaluate the competitive values between contract and flexibility, consumers’ perceived value on how much monetary value can be saved on a 2-year contract by offsetting possessive value with a new phone. As an example, albeit its complexity more than our thoughts, ordinary consumers’ consideration set or choice set forms can be varied by service provider characteristics or available options – e.g., individual vs. family plans, high-monthly cost (Verizon or T-Mobile) vs. low-monthly cost (Google Fi or Mint). One notes that not all consumers seriously compute all factors (e.g., strict monetary compensation) but heuristically evaluate individually weighted components (e.g., familiarity or convenience) or even simply use impulsive judgments (e.g., gut feeling or deals).”
Wooyang Kim, Ph.D. – Professor, Minnesota State University Moorhead
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