UPDATE: In a comment on our original iPhone 4 UK price post, Luke points out that the deal ends on 24 July, so the earlier you upgrade, the better! We’ve also just rummaged through the fineprint and found that opting for this waives the usual “Change your mind” period, as it “will be continuing to prove a service which you are already familiar with.” So er, no refunds.
The iPhone 4 UK price is still an unknown entity right now, but if you’re locked into an existing iPhone contract and chimping at the bit to get out, we’ve got good news. O2 is offering Apple addicts the chance to get out of their commitments on the cheap – but they’re not waiving them completely. Read on to see what you’ll need to fork out to get an iPhone 4 on launch day.
To avoid a backlash when announcing the iPhone 4 UK price tariffs (Something that happened with the iPhone 3G and 3GS changeover last year), O2 is letting people know now that they can get out of their contracts early.
Unlike in the US, where AT&T is simply letting iPhone owners waive their contracts six months ahead of schedule, there’s a cost. Instead of paying upwards of £35 per month, or whatever your current phone tariff is, O2 is allowing customers to pay a charge equivalent to £20 per month left – this is for all contract customers, not just iPhone users.
iPhone 4 UK price: How much are you willing to pay?
In other words, if you bought an iPhone 3GS on launch last year on an 18 month contract, you should only have to add an extra £120 to the iPhone 4 UK price for your realistic switchover cost (As you should have six months left on your contract now, see?).
Confused? Don’t worry: O2’s provided a simple calculator to work out the fee for you: just pop your contract renewal date in and brace yourself.
It’s a welcome move, and we’ll be interested to see how other networks respond: this is the first iPhone which will be sold on four different networks at launch in Britain, rather than just one, so we’re hopeful a bit of competition will bring the iPhone 4 UK price – and the one early upgraders will really have to pay – down.
[Thanks Luke!]
Out 24 June | £TBC | O2
